


How to Live Without Hope

by Metrowolf



Category: Homestuck
Genre: Comfort, F/M, end of the world AU, non suburb
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-04-27
Updated: 2015-02-18
Packaged: 2018-01-21 01:00:26
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 10
Words: 28,962
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1531739
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Metrowolf/pseuds/Metrowolf
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A non suburb AU in which the world is flooded by the Condesce and Roxy becomes the last person alive.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. the end

**Author's Note:**

> ((My most popular work from my fanfiction days, I've decided to revamp and bring on over here! There will be some tweaks to the plot so if you read the original you're in for a new experience.))  
> \- Apocalyptic soundtrack- How Far We've Come; Matchbox 20

Roxy was ten years old when she became the last person on Earth.  


Twenty years previously the world had been invaded by an alien force that wanted nothing more than to destroy civilization as we knew it. Cities were wiped from the map, millions died, the man holding 'the end is near' sign just laughed, and it took less than a month after the fleets arrival for the planet to be flooded. The new queen was a sea creature on her home world, and preferred all of her colonies to be like this. Only a handful of humans survived. They drifted around on boats at first, but the queen caught on quick enough and started to send out her lusi monsters to cull them. Finally the humans were forced to take refuge on the floating cities the queen brought to house her new earthlings.  


The creatures she brought were strange little beetle people, half of them pitch black and half of them stark white. These Carapaces as they were called, were just as terrified of the Condescension as the humans were, and allowed the refugees to hide amongst them in peace. The queen refused to ease her extermination of the human race, sending wave after wave of drones and monsters to search the seas. Sometimes a human would be caught and killed. Sometimes an entire city was burned down to nothingness. Still, what was left of humanity found a way to survive.  


It was during this time that Roxy was born. Her mother, Rose, along with her small band of refugees she was with were overjoyed. It was incredible to see a child being born amidst such disaster. The newborn gave them all desperately needed hope. The humans, along with their carapace friends swore to help her and to keep that hope alive. It was difficult of course. They taught her how to use the technology the aliens brought with them (she was a natural with their computers) and taught her to hide when the drones approached. They tried to shelter her as much as they could, but she cried with the rest of them whenever someone was lost.  


The best part of her life, along with the worst was shortly after she turned seven. A few other survivors joined Rose's group, one of which was a young boy just older than Roxy named Dirk. Roxy was thrilled to have a friend her age, and Rose was glad for the strength of his brother Dave. Both boys pretended to be chill about the world ending for entertainment. “No more Huston traffic or juggalos.” Dave would joke. Dirk said the same things to Roxy, but neither of them had no idea what juggalos, or even traffic was. Dirk always had this scary puppet with him, something they found in one of the cities. Roxy hated it, but it made Dirk happy so she never said anything.  


They were both killed less than a year later during a drone raid. It had been quick and unexpected, giving no one a chance to hide or fight back. Dirk lost his balance and fell into the ocean below them, and Dave dove in after him. By the time the raid left, no one could find either of their bodies. Forced to accept that the had drowned, what was left of the group had a funeral for them. Roxy's mom cried a lot over the next few weeks.  


The group dwindled over the next few years. Rose found a way to get the alien technology to produce real fruits and vegetables, which were miles better than the tasteless nutrient slime the carapaces shared with them. Roxy tried it a few times under Rose's close supervision, but the only thing she could ever appear-ify were pumpkins. Roxy gave up trying to use the machine, and Rose used the extra pumpkins to trade with the carapaces. Roxy soon filled her room with games and wizard books that the carapaces had hoarded but had no use for. She even got a cat from a regal looking carapace. Roxy named him Friggilish.  


The day she lost her mom started out like every other. Roxy woke up early, and she and Rose took a few pumpkins down to what they considered the market place. They never could be sure, since the carapaces didn't have a word for it, but it was where they got all their trading done. As they walked toward their booth Roxy spotted a creepy looking doll in the arms of a smaller carapace. They watched it walk away, Roxy couldn't help but think of Dirk and Dave, and tears sprang to her eyes. Rose tried to remember something good about the boys so Roxy wouldn't cry, but instead told her that they weren't actually brothers.  


Rose explained that she had talked to Dave late one night when they were on watch duty together and Dave admitted he wasn't Dirk's brother. He was Dirk's dad. The mother was a beautiful young lady he had met before things had gotten so bad. They stayed together for years through it all, but soon after Dirk was born she got separated from Dave and he never saw her again. Roxy chided her mother for telling a sad story while they were trying to be happy, and set her pumpkin down at the waiting booth.  


Before they could start trading the sirens suddenly started blaring. The reaction was instantaneous in a practiced way, and Roxy ran ahead of her mom the entire way home. She left her pumpkin, and watched the carapaces hide in their homes from the approaching raid. Just as they reached their own home one of the other refugees stopped Rose.  


“Rose, you need to see this.” He said urgently. Roxy wasn't sure what could be so important to draw her from safety, but Rose decided it was important.  


“Stay still, stay hidden until I come and get you.” Rose gave Roxy a kiss on the forehead and followed the man back outside. Roxy slipped into the downstairs lab, petting Friggilish furiously. To his credit, Friggilish let her. A few hours stretched into the whole day, and long after night had fallen Roxy finally grew too tired to remain awake. She was hungry and scared, but she fell asleep on the hard metal floor. The cat paced the room, as if trying to keep watch over her.  


The next morning Roxy discovered she was still alone. She had heard nothing all night, and was confused as to why she was still in the lab. When the events of the previous day came back to her, Roxy jumped to her feet. She didn't know or care if the all clear had been signaled yet, she was hungry and she needed to find her mom.  


Upon walking outside Roxy found that half of the city had been destroyed. The market place was gone, along with the homes of some of her carapace friends. No one came to find her, no signs that any other human had ever lived in the city. All of the carapaces that were still alive refused to come out of their homes. No humans left. Roxy forgot how hungry she was, and spent the rest of the day running around the broken city. She screamed at the top of her lungs for her mother, not giving a damn who heard her. Long after the sun set she passed out in a door step, and a particularly brave carapace went outside to carry her home.  


The next eight years were a slow dream for Roxy. She played her video games, she played with Frigglish. More than anything else, Roxy drank. Aside from the vegetables, Rose had been especially successful at summoning tons of alcoholic beverages, but then refusing to drink any. The world was dangerous enough now a days, no need to make it worse she would say. Roxy had been drunk once when she was eight, and the hangover had been enough to keep her away from the bottles for two years. Now, they were the only thing that kept her going.  


She still created pumpkins using the lab equipment, but instead of trading she simply gave them away. The carapaces still liked and helped her, especially one household. A band of three had taken it upon themselves to be her personal guardians. Two of them were black, and the third was white. The tallest one told stories of her days back on her home planet where she worked as a parcel mistress. The middle one had been a police officer, and the shortest one was a rising politician. They didn't really use names, just strange titles Roxy couldn't pronounce, but Roxy loved them and spent most of her sober time with them.  


Then Friggilish died, and Roxy felt more alone than she ever had. She stopped talking to her friends, and spent more and more time in her lab. She found a way to paradox clones of her cat with one of the machines she found. None of the new cats were anything like Friggilish, but she did create a spunky little mutant kitten. The kitten had four eyes, and Roxy named her Vodka mutini after her favorite drink.  


Again, Roxy went back to being drunk and reckless. Sometimes she just sat at her computer writing stories about the kids she saw in her dreams. A boy her age with dark hair and square glasses that she called Jake. Then a cute girl with blue eyes called Jane. The two of them fell in love and had a bunch of babies, and Roxy always cried when she reread that part. When she turned seventeen she started to write in a journal she called her hope diaries. Ironically of course, as her own hope was dead.  


In these diaries she wrote about her dreams. The world was absolutely perfect and not covered in water, but all of her carapace friends were there. And Dirk, because he never really drowned. Roxy was the last person on earth, and it wasn't until after her seventeenth year that her life really started.  


The postal worker took it upon herself to watch over Roxy when she was drunk, which was to say all the time. Summer turned to fall and on one particularly chilly morning Roxy walked along the edges of the city. She swayed precariously over the edges, threatening to topple over and fall into the endless sea. She knew how to swim, she had learned shortly after Dirk died, but PM didn't trust her abilities when there was more alcohol in her blood stream than actual blood. Roxy didn't protest as the carapace took her hand.  


That's when she spotted the seagull. It bobbed in the wind, before settling on a bit of railing close to her. Roxy had seen seagulls before, but this one was staring at her, waiting for her to notice it. “Heeeeello Mr. gul-gull!” She slurred, giggling at it. The bird lifted back into the air, and drifted over the sea. After a moment it doubled back and squawked at her. Roxy watched as it landed on a piece of flotsam, before realizing there was something else out there.  


Roxy stepped closer to the edge to investigate, but PM tugged on her hand in a worried fashion. “Oh thash roght!” Roxy snapped her fingers. “Silly me!”  


She nodded at PM in thanks, and stripped all her clothes off before running to the nearest dock and jumping into the water. Pm gave a gasp and followed her, but all her worrying had been for nothing. Roxy felt reinvigorated by the chill of the water, and swam to the junk easily. The seagull called at her again and took off, but Roxy didn't pay it attention. On the floating bit of city was a person.  


Her heart beat in slow motion as she tugged the flotsam back to the dock. Roxy sneezed once she was back on the dock, and PM thrust her clothes back on her. She swayed as she stared down at the person in the water, sure her mind was playing tricks on her. It was just an unconscious carapace, or even a large manikin. There was no way a man just washed up onto her city. Roxy looked him over carefully. His shirt was torn and he was sun burnt, but his injuries didn't look that bad. A few cuts and bruises, some of which were already healing. He had a tattoo on his shoulder, but Roxy just shrugged. If her mind was producing a dream guy, why not make him as rugged as possible? Something about the tattoo unnerved her though, it reminded her of that terrifying doll from years ago. In fact, the boy looked an awful lot like Dave.  


Roxy attempted to pull him on the dock with her, but he was heavier than she thought he would be. “What the hack brain boy?” She muttered. “My imaginachun- imic- creation- is not normally this good!” She pulled him half way onto the dock before she fell backwards with exhaustion. “Ohhhhhhhhh miss mai lady! Can you help me with this hunka imagination! Oh, I got it that time!” Roxy called.  


The carapace looked down at the boy with fright. “Roxy, I don't think he's a part of your imagination.” She said quietly.  


“Nonsents!” Roxy replied happily, putting her hands under his armpits and trying again. “I always see other people. Shum times its my mom. Now elp me lift him hup!”  


Together they carried the unconscious boy to Roxy's home, gathering a collection of frightened stares from the carapaces they passed. They laid him gently in Roxy's bed, and giggling, she shooed PM away.  


“I'm gonna be nurse Roxy, thish is going to be such fun!” Roxy explained. PM looked anxious to leave the boys care in Roxy's hands, but in the end she decided Roxy couldn't mess up so tiny injuries and reluctantly exited.  


As carefully as her drunk fingers could, Roxy cleaned his wounds and bandaged them. She had aloe in the kitchen, as well as hydrogen peroxide that Rose had left her before she died. As she worked, Roxy let her fingers stay on his skin longer than was necessary. She knew she was drunk, but he felt so real. There was no way someone else could still be alive, not after all this time.  


She left his boxers on, but his shirt ended up on the floor, and she promised herself it would be washed the next day. Happy and intoxicated, Roxy fell asleep next to him. She drank in his scent, felt the heat from his skin. She prayed to any god that might still be out there that he still be next to her when she woke up in the morning. For the first time in years she fell asleep peacefully, not a single tear in her eye.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The last girl on earth meets the last guy on earth. hilarity ensues. haha im kidding, everything hurts

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not exactly sure how often I'll update, I'm out of school so I should have more time to work on this  
> -apocalyptic soundtrack- Welcome Home; Radical Face

When Roxy woke up the next morning she found that the boy was gone. She felt crushed, and then cursed herself, for even hoping he had been real. Once the gritty anger subsided Roxy stretched her arms above her. Her head throbbed painfully because of all the drinking she had done the day before, and she felt like she was going to be sick. Instead of heading for her bathroom, Roxy reached across the bedside table and grabbed an open bottle of whiskey. Vodka Mutini hissed at her and scrambled from the room.  


“Shut up you pussy.” Roxy hissed back. She took a deep swig of the whiskey, and the pounding immediately lessened.  


“Well that's not very nice.” The boy commented as he stepped back into the room. He had a cup of coffee in one hand, his other leaned against the door frame. Roxy's entire mind went blank, everything she had ever known was thrown out the window just by looking at him. His body was well sculpted, she could see almost all of it since the only thing covering him was a small white towel wrapped around his waist. His blonde hair was slicked back with water and dripping on the floor. Roxy would have realized he just got out of the shower if she could only remember what a shower was.  


Finally something in her brain clicked, and Roxy let out a surprised squeal as she ducked under her pillow. She clutched tight to her headrest like it could safeguard her from the hangover phantom. “Who're you?” She managed in a small voice. If he was real, she was making complete idiot of herself.  


“You don't remember me?” He asked, his face crestfallen.  


“Dave?” Roxy supplied, but she knew she was wrong. “You can't be Dave though, he drowned.”  


“No, neither of us drowned.” The stranger shook his head slowly. “It's me, Dirk.”  


Roxy drew the pillow even closer to her chest, trying to use it to keep her rapidly beating heart in. She tried to focus on breathing, but it was a lot harder than she thought it should be. Because of her hangover her head was beating painfully, and tears had sprung to her eyes. All these years, and Dirk had been alive. Alive, but so painfully separated from her. Roxy finally looked back up at him, and saw that he looked just as raw as she felt. “Why did you never come back, If you were still alive? What happened to you and Dave?” She asked hoarsely.  


Dirk stepped into the room, holding the towel self consciously. Roxy sat up on her bed to make room for him, and he took the spot graciously. He took his face in his hands, and after a moment started his story. “That day, all those years ago, I really thought it was the end for me. I fell into the ocean and Dave jumped in after me. He pulled the both of us onto a housing block that had come loose from the rest of the city, and by time the attack had subsided we were too far away to swim back. The whole city looked like it was up in flames, we thought there wasn't anyone to go back to.” He clenched his fists. “I thought you were dead. We stayed in our little room, found another city, made a life for ourselves. I never really stopped thinking about you. I saw you so often in my dreams. Everything was going as well as it could for two dudes in sea Hitler's water apocalypse when a few days ago our city was bombed. I don't know what happened to Dave. Hell, I'm not really sure what happened to me.”  


“I'm sorry.” Roxy whispered. He looked at her imploringly, and she could tell he was itching to ask about the others he had left behind. Her mouth felt dry at the prospect, but he had told her his story. He had a right to know. “A few years after you, uh, left, there was another raid. I made it to the lab safely, but when I woke up everyone else was gone. I thought I was the last.”  


She didn't want to expand on what had happened, and didn't have to. Dirk could fill in the blanks. He stared at her, his eyes large and glassy, before he stood up and silently walked from the room. Roxy watched him go, unable to say anything to stop him. It dawned on her for that for the last eight years she thought she was the last person on earth, and now she knew she was wrong. What do you say to someone after this much time? What can you tell the last man?  


Maybe if she was lucky he would just leave, find himself another piece of junk and float away. Leave her to her drinks and her mutant cats, and allow her to live the rest of her short pathetic life until the Condesce decided it was her time to die. Roxy looked mournfully at her ceiling, before shaking her head furiously. No, she had to clear those thoughts away. She wasn't alone anymore, the two of them had to stick together.  


Roxy stood up, and immediately halted as the room titled around her. She leaned against her bed side table, groping across its surface for her bottle. Once she found it, she took a sip of the whiskey and carried it with her as she left the room. She moved through the empty house like a ghost, past long hallways and cold, uninviting rooms that used to shelter the living. Roxy found Dirk outside, sitting on the edge of the roof and staring at the rising sun. She carefully climbed up to join him, wobbling slightly as she crossed the roof. She found her footing before she neared the edge, and sat down next to him.  


“S not theat- that bad.” Roxy slurred, letting her feet dangle over the side. The brisk morning air felt good against her skin. Dirk had crossed his legs before looking at her, orange eyes filled with grief. He had put back on the same clothes she had found him in the day before. A black wife beater and a pair of baggy jeans. Both articles of clothing were badly ripped, not to mention they were still grimy from his swim. “I have cats, shum carapace frends, and lotsa lots of drinks.” She said, holding up the half empty bottle of whiskey.  


To her surprise, Dirk snatched the open bottle from her and tossed it into the waiting ocean. “Hey!” She shouted, one hundred percent proud of herself for not jumping off the roof after it. It landed with a dull slash, bobbing away from them in the waves. Dirk looked absolutely furious at her.  


“That's all you do?” He hollered back at her. Roxy shrank away from his fury, unused to yelling. “You sit here and play with your cats and get drunk? You're the last girl on earth, and you're wasting your life Roxy!” Dirk snapped.  


Roxy was too stunned to reply right away. “I writ.” She muttered after a moment. “And I have the high shcore on call of duty.” Roxy had never before even entertained the thought that she was wasting her life. Mostly because she had never really considered what she had a life.  


His face relaxed a bit. “I'm sorry for yelling, it's just so frustrating. I finally found you again, and you have even less than what I had with Dave.”  


“I have a bunch of equikint- equit- eu-”  


“Equipment.”  


“That. And I know how to use it really well.” Roxy said, pointing her finger at him accusingly. “What did you have?”  


Dirk frowned at her, and brushed a stray lock from his face. “I had some equipment too, but I know for a fact we had different toys to play with. My new city was made for manufacturing drone, and I had plenty of raw materials to build my own robots. I had a few drones, and I sparred with them as practice for the real deal.” Then he cracked the first real smile Roxy had ever seen him wear. “And me and Dave made puppets and ran this blog.”  


“Dog bless the carapaces.” Roxy replied. “End of the world and they still keep the internet up.”  


“So what sort of tech to do you have?” Dirk asked, stretching his legs out and standing up. He held out his hand for Roxy, which she took earnestly. He was stronger than she anticipated, and she stood up too fast. Loosing her balance, Roxy pitched forward toward the sea. She gasped, but before she could fall Dirk's arms were suddenly around her. He pulled her away from the edge and back toward the stairs.  


“Thanks.” Roxy stammered. Dirk blinked down at her, but didn't let go of his grip. It felt weird, human contact, and before she could stop herself, Roxy tapped his arm. “Dirk, safe now, you can let go.”  


“Sorry.” He muttered, releasing her and taking a step back. Roxy suddenly felt her face flush red, both embarrassed that she had let him hold on that long and that she made him let go so early. “No more drinking for you.” He added lightly.  


Together they went down to the lab that Roxy had damn near literally grew up in. If it wasn't such an important room, Roxy was sure she would have never gone back after she lost her mom. All of her worst nightmares were born from the room. She forcefully pushed the dread she was feeling to the back of her mind like she always did, and showed Dirk all of the different machines she had inherited from Rose. Roxy was particularly proud of the paradox machine that she had used to make Vodka Mutini, and thus showed it to him first. Then they wandered to the appearifyier, still locked onto the last pumpkin she had made.  


Dirk decided he wanted to give the device a whirl, even after Roxy warned him that the only thing she had ever created over the years were pumpkins. Almost as soon as he touched the controls a waterfall of ripe looking fruit materialized in the lab. Roxy tried to contain her anger, it wasn't his fault he was better than she, but failed horrendously. She sulked by the paradox machine, letting him figure out the rest of the equipment by himself. Roxy only got more upset when she realized he was a natural with everything else as well.  


After that Roxy dragged him out of the house to explore the rest of the city he had been away from for so long. They spent hours wandering around the town, eating ripe fruit and not talking much. They had seen parts of the city Roxy had forgotten existed. When did they start rebuilding the part of the city that had been destroyed when she lost her mom? More importantly, when did they finish rebuilding it? If the carapaces were surprised to see two people instead of one, they didn't show it, and were instead nice to them. Maybe Dirk had been right. Even if she thought she was the last human on earth for the past few years, she could have been doing so much more than getting drunk.  


Just before sunset they ended up back in Roxy's room. She couldn't remember the last time she had been so happy. The delicious fruit, the company, it filled her with a particular warmth she hadn't felt in a while. Roxy sat down on the bed, and in a mockery of their feelings jam that morning, patted the sheets next to her as seductively as she could. Dirk rolled his eyes, but sat down next to her. He was wearing a brand new shirt that she had bartered from a carapace, and in celebration of finding another living breathing human Roxy had gotten herself a new skirt.  


“I missed you.” Roxy whispered to him. Truth be told, she missed everyone. But Roxy didn't feel particularly compelled to tell Dirk that. Instead she smiled playfully and nudged his arm.  


Dirk gave her a weak smile in return. “Yeah I guess. “He muttered, more to himself than her. “I missed having a little sister.”  


Roxy frowned, drawing herself back to her side of the bed. “You don't need to think of me as a little sister anymore. I don't. Think of you as a brother that is. I don't want to think of you that way.” She stumbled over her words, and started to blush. Roxy had learned a few things from the carapaces and what was left of the internet, but it looked like flirting wasn't something you could figure out on your own.  


To her further chagrin, Dirk tensed at her words. “You don't want to.” He repeated, working his jaw as if the words left a bad taste in his mouth.  


“Well.” Roxy started slowly, knowing what she was about to say was the wrong thing, but unable to stop herself. She draped her arm around his shoulder. “Dirk, we are the last people on earth.”  


“No.” Dirk shook her hand off and stood up suddenly. His muscles all looked tense, as if he were under attack. What was he so afraid of? She was flirting with him! Not trying to kill him! “No, we don't have to be thinking about that! Ever!” He said through gritted teeth. Dirk readjusted his stupid pointy shades and walked out of the room.  


Roxy stared after him, her eyes wide. After a few moments it became obvious that he wasn't coming back, and a few more moments for the tears to fall. The utter rejection stung her chest, and she buried her face in her hands as the sobs started to rack her body. This is what they had to do right? Fall in love because- She wiped her eyes and started to hate herself for her doe eyes optimism. How could she be so stupid as to think something as trivial as necessity could get him to love her? What could she do when the last man on earth didn't like her?


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> How to deal with rejection: Roxy style

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I could be doing real work, but I'm instead pouring myself into a fanfiction about teenagers in the apocalypse. Adulthood rocks.  
> -apocalyptic soundtrack- Bloody Shirt; To Kill a King

Roxy fell asleep that night drunk and bubbly, her body curled an empty bottle of vodka. She woke up before the sun even had a chance to rise, but felt no desire to get up and even pretend to live anymore. Roxy stayed in her bed for most of the day, a painful wreck of herself. The hangover slowly worked itself out, and she threw up twice into a bowl at the side of her bed, there for that very purpose. There was no alcohol in arm's length of her bed, so she simply didn't drink that day. Roxy tossed and turned, fighting hard to keep more tears or vomit from coming up. Eventually she got up to pee, but she had accomplished nothing that day. Roxy fell asleep a whirlwind of emotions, biting her pillow from hunger pains. 

The next sunrise brought her relief from her headache. She felt well enough to get out of bed at least. Roxy wandered around her haunted house in search of Dirk, but she found no trace of him. Eventually she ended up in the kitchen, staring at her pathetic pantry. It didn't matter that she didn't have much food, Roxy felt too sad to really eat anything. Knowing she couldn't skip eating two days in a row Roxy forced a few pieces of bread down before heading back to her room. This time she was unable to resist the temptation of her drinks, and fell asleep happy and wasted once again. 

The vicious cycle kept up for an entire week. Roxy alternated the days in which she was drunk and hungover, only leaving her room a few times a day to get food or use the bathroom. It was just like the eight years before Dirk came back from the dead. She laughed when she thought about him, why on earth had she thought his resurrection would change anything? She was just as stupid and unlovable now as she was then. 

On the eighth day something inside of Roxy clicked, and she realized she couldn't keep her destructive cycle going. First of all, nothing would get better if she wasted away like this. And more importantly, no one got smashed and cried about a breakup and still got the guy in the end in all of those shitty chick flick movies that Roxy had seen. She would have to make him fall in love with her, however the frick someone does that. She found herself wishing her mother was still alive more than ever, before remembering that she still had friends here. 

Roxy pulled herself from her bed and stood up, waiting a good half hour for the world to stop spinning around her. Finally she could stand without swaying, and marched to the shower. Roxy spent a good two hours in there, letting the water soak into her skin. She shaved he legs and washed her hair, before getting out to a steamy bathroom. Roxy wrapped a towel around her head instead of her body, and stalked back to her room in the nude. It looked like Dirk really was gone, no one stopped her on her way. 

After she was dressed in her best white kitty shirt, pink skirt, and pink scarf she headed outside. It was about mid day, the sun hanging just above her with it's wicked brightness, and Roxy vaguely recalled that today was supposed to be a hangover day. She would probably be feeling it later. Trying her best to keep her head up, Roxy walked across uneven sidewalks down a familiar path. She raised her hand, and winced as the knock rang clearly across the city block. 

The larger of the black carapaces answered the door. “Roxy?” He asked, blinking at her in blatant confusion. Instantly WV and PM were at his side. 

“Hai guys-” Roxy opened her mouth the greet her friends. Maybe she would make a joke, or at the very least explain what had happened to her since she stopped talking to PM a week ago. Anything to assuage the only beings who still cared about her. Instead she opened her mouth, said hello, and started bawling. 

The carapaces started at her for a beat, unsure of what to do with the crying teenager on their doorstep. Then PM took a step toward Roxy and put her long hard shelled around the girl. AR and WV quickly joined in the hug, and for a few minutes the four of them stood their awkwardly while Roxy sobbed. Before she knew what was going on she was sitting on their tiny alien sized couch and crying her story in PM's lap. The white carapace stroked her head and nodded every now and then, but listened to her in silence. 

”And now I don't know what to do.” Roxy whispered, sniffling away the last of her tears. “I may have come on a little strong I guess, but he could have come and talked to me or somethin instead of bein a royal dick prince about it.” 

“A prince?” WV snapped to attention immediately. “Just point out this ruffian royalty to me and I will beat him-” 

”He's not an actual prince. Roxy was just using a colorful,” PM glared down at Roxy. “albeit rude human expression.” 

“Rry.” Roxy mumbled into her hands. 

“Now darling, I'm terribly sorry you're having yourself some boy troubles. We really don't have matesprites or whatever it is you humans have.” AR said, obviously trying to console her but not really saying anything that could help. “But there is not a whole lot you can do to help yourself if you insist upon sitting in your room and drinking.” 

Roxy looked up at the carapaces mournfully. “That's all I know how to do!” She whimpered. 

“I remember you before you lost your mother.” WV commented in his tiny voice. He was the most level headed of the three, if a bit eccentric. Unless royalty was mentioned he never yelled, never got angry, and rarely ever was afraid. If Roxy were to guess she would say he had had a run in with her imperious Condescension, but she never pried about their past if they didn't want to talk. “You didn't drink, you made all sorts of friends. Some of them liked you enough to stay by your side even after you started drinking. What I recommend is being yourself around him, no alcohol involved.” He remarked with an encouraging smile. 

Roxy buried her face back into her hands. She had stopped talking to most of her carapace friends when she lost her mom, she couldn't even remember their names. Yet, PM had always gone out of her way to help, and the boys always followed her lead. She was never just hurting herself all those years, and the realization made her sit up. Roxy looked at them with a watery smile. “Thank you.” She bubbled, wiping her eyes. 

“Should we help find your prince charming?” PM smiled back at her, then raised her hand in an apologetic gesture when she saw WV get up. 

“If you would.” Roxy grinned in reply, pulling the three of them in for another group hug. It was significantly more cheerful then the one they had half an hour ago, and Roxy decided that group hugs were something she would never get enough of. 

That's when the sirens went off. Roxy jolted to attention, twisted her head to look at the door so quickly she gave herself whiplash. The rest of the carapaces followed her gaze, the four of them staring at the door as if a drone were going to burst in at any second. Roxy ignored them, her brain processing what the sirens meant. The carapaces were home, as long as they didn't go outside they'd be fine. Actually, as long as Roxy didn't leave she'd be fine. No matter how many times she repeated that fact to herself, she couldn't stop thinking about the last time she hid by herself while her loved ones were outside. Roxy was never going to lose Dirk again. 

“Roxy!” PM shouted as the girl sprang for the door and ran outside. 

Roxy raced across the city, skidding to a stop in front of one of her many caches. She nearly threw herself into the crevice as she floundered for her rifle. Over the years Roxy had stashed away several weapons across the city. She never liked them at home, and it was more convenient for them to be dispersed throughout the city. Roxy had never really needed to use a gun, but learned to shoot well when she was young. Her mom thought it would be something worth knowing, and it appeared that she was right. 

“Dirk!” Roxy screamed desperately, before a thought struck her. He had been raised just as she had, he knew that the sirens meant 'Danger!' and had probably already headed back to the house. Roxy darted into one of the dark alleys, and stopped to catch her breath. She just had to get home, to see if he was there. She exited out the other end, and felt her blood freeze. 

Drones. Ahead of her, high in the sky, was a small red patch. It looked there was ten of them, and Roxy ducked back into the alley. They were flying in a tight formation, headed straight for her city. Normally there were only two or three in a patrol, and Roxy had to wonder if the incident that brought Dirk to her also brought these abhorrent killers to her city. 

She made her way carefully back to her home, but the process was much more time consuming now that the Drones were within sight. She had to duck around in the shadows and doorways, anything to prevent her being spotted. It was tedious yes, but not very difficult at all, as she was used to taking the dodgy route home. 

When she no more than a hundred feet from her house the drones all started to buzz loudly and swooped down on her city. Roxy gasped and pressed herself flat against the doorway she was in. They had spotted someone, but it didn't look like they were coming for her. Her heart started to beat loudly in her chest. There was only one other person they could be after. Her first impulse was to run forward, to shout and scream and do anything to get their attention, but what good would that do? That would only put the both of them in danger. Somehow she kept herself under control, and crept forward in the shadows. 

Just as she feared, Dirk was standing in the courtyard in front of her house, a sword in his hand. He was looking up at the drones, clearly ready for the fight they were about to bring him. He had said that he and Dave fought with drones before, but this many? Roxy felt terrified for him, and could only cover her face with her hands as the first ones swooped down at him. There was a loud metallic ripping noise, and she peeked between the cracks in her fingers. Roxy gaped at what she saw. The two drones that had attacked first were laying on the ground, cut neatly into halves. Dirk was dodging away from a missile shot by a third drone, and two more had started to swoop down. 

Roxy felt a sudden urge to flee, to run away and leave the battle to Dirk. So why didn't she? What was keeping her rooted to the doorway, unable to run or do anything at all? “No.” she whispered to herself, and then repeated it with more force. She was done running away, not when she could do something! Roxy pulled up her rifle and sighted one of the drones that was flying down. She took a deep breath when she had the head centered and pulled the trigger. 

The drone's eye shattered, and it careened suddenly into the second drone. They both tore at each other blindly, and with a loud roar the one Roxy shot exploded. What was left of the two drones fell into the ocean with a tremendous crash. Dirk looked up in surprise, and when he spotted her he gave a thumbs up before returning to the fight. Roxy watched him, glad she finally found the courage to shoot. As Dirk cut the legs from another drone, Roxy put the rifle back on her shoulder and fired again. This time one of the drone's lost a hand, and it looked up to where she was hidden accusingly. Oh Shit oh shit oh shit. 

With Dirk preoccupied with four of the drones, the last one started heading in Roxy's direction. She pumped the action and held it up again. Roxy had no time to think about what would happen if she missed this time. The drone's head exploded as her bullet ripped through it's jaw. Or rather, what would have been its jaw if it had human parts. 

Roxy let out a whoop of joy and glanced back down at the court yard. Her shout of triumph died in her throat. Six of the drones lay trashed in the yard, but the last one was holding Dirk, as if trying to squeeze the life from him. The sword was half way across the grass, no where near Dirk's reach. The drone was missing one of it's arms, and it looked like it's weapon system was down, but it didn't need technology to crush the boy in it's grip. 

“Dirk!” Roxy yelped in fear, hastily pulling her gun back onto her shoulder. She butted herself on accident, and noticed that she had a bruise on her shoulder from the kickback. No time to worry about that now. Fear coursed through her systems, trying to shut her down. He was so close to the drone's head, she could hit him. But then she realized it didn't matter, if she didn't pull the trigger he was dead anyway. A deep breath. The last drone's arm went limp as it's head exploded, and it fell backwards dropping Dirk unceremoniously in the yard. 

Roxy dropped her rifle and sprinted into the yard. Dirk coughed at her, but from a quick survey it didn't look like he had any permanent damage. Roxy knelt next to him, unsure of what to say. She felt tears forming in her eyes. “Dirk.” She breathed. “Why did you go outside?” 

“Looking for you.” He whispered back. He wiped the tears from her eyes and frowned. “You weren't home.” 

Roxy gave him a gentle hug, and was surprised when he curled his arms around her and hugged her back. “I'm sorry!” Roxy choked. Oh damnit now she was crying. 

“Don't be. We need to stick together from now on, no fighting.” Dirk replied, pulling himself away from Roxy but not letting her go. Somehow he had kept his weird pointy sunglasses on during the whole fight. Now he pushed them up his forehead so that should could see his right orange eyes. He gave her a quick kiss to the forehead and laid down to catch his breath. “I'll be here to protect you from now on.”


	4. chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> How to suck at shooting by Dirk Strider

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 4! Sorry about the wait, I thought summer would be awesome for writing but my full time job dissagreed  
> \- Apocalyptic soundtrack- Midnight City; M83

Roxy felt a warmth fill her gut. This was an excellent start, next thing he would be asking for her hand in marriage and- Oh god that was not warmth filling the pit of her stomach. Roxy rocked into a standing position, much faster than she should have, and hobbled quickly to the edge of the courtyard. The second she reached the crack between the houses she threw up, watching as the contents of her stomach fell into the waiting sea. 

“Roxy?” dirk asked, tenderly pulling himself up. He winced with the effort it took to even stand up, and Roxy realized she would have to redo her evaluation of his injuries. He may have a broken bone or two. 

“Sss nothing.” Roxy waved her hand at him, before turning back to the gap and hurling again. “I mayr may not be hungover. Or sstill frunk. It's a possiblity.” She muttered. Roxy felt the pressure in her head lessen with each heave. It wasn't pretty, but soon she'd be able to walk in a straight line again. 

“I should be angry that you've been drinking again, but frankly I'm impressed that you killed three of them with a hangover. Either we make an outstanding team, or these bots were trash.” Dirk commented dryly. He put his hand to his side and applied careful pressure as he made his way over to where Roxy was still throwing up. 

“We shar an standing team.” Roxy replied, wiping her mouth with her scarf and then pulling the dirty article off. The scarf would be thrown straight into the washing machine as soon as they got back to the lab. Dirk gave her a pathetic smile, and winced at the effort it took. 

“You're drunk and I can't even take down a measly ten drones without help. Some team we are.” Dirk laughed harshly. It was a cold and humorous laugh, and it frightened Roxy more than it should have. 

“A hangover, and a boy on a bad day.” Roxy corrected him, trying to cheer him up. She stood up and faced him. “We have each other now, remember? We're not going to just protect each other, we can learn from each other as well!” 

At that Dirk pitched his head back to stare at the sky, like a wolf who was about to start howling. His shades had a crack in the corner of the right lens. He crossed his arms, trying not to flinch in pain. “I want to learn how to shoot like you do. I prefer my swords, but learning how to shoot a gun might come in handy. And I suppose I could teach you how to use my swords if you wanted.” Dirk replied. He gave a short sigh and looked back down at her. 

“Ogood!” Roxy slurred. “We can get started right away!” She proceeded to cover her mouth, lean over the water, and vomit again. 

Dirk stared. “We can get started tomorrow when you're feeling better.” 

The next morning PM and WV came into Roxy's room to rouse her from her sleep. The carapaces shook her gently, looking uncharacteristicly terrified. PM threw her arms around Roxy the second the human sat up. 

“Oh Roxy we were so worried when you ran outside yesterday! Everyone could hear the fight, we thought you were a goner!” WV cried, joining in on the hug. His arms were shaking, and Roxy suddenly felt horrible for scaring her friends the way she did. 

“You don't need to worry about that anymore.” Dirk announced, limping into her doorway. “We're going to look out for each other, and keep each safe and sober from now on.” He said pointedly. The two carapaces turned to face him for a tense second, before nodding. 

“PM.” The tall white carapace said, holding her hand out. 

“WV.” The shorter black carapace added after Dirk shook PM's hand. 

“And AR is outside cleaning up the mess the two of you made yesterday.” Pm added. “You know how he gets. If there's something in town that doesn't belong he's going to be the first one out there taking care of it.” 

“Does he have the whole block roped off?” Roxy asked, stifling a giggle. She knew exactly how AR got. The last time a drone was killed in their town he held a full scale investigation even though everyone knew it was some crazy rapping robot that had done it. 

“Of course he does.” WV confirmed her suspicions. The carapaces left after they were satisfied that Dirk was indeed going to help Roxy. The day before had been nothing short of hell for Roxy. Together the wounded teens limped home after the battle, one with a broken rib and the other throwing up. While Roxy lay in the shower, trying not to cry, Dirk waited in the living room just breathing to pass the time. Once she was well enough Roxy got out and found some bandages, and wrapped his chest. It was the only thing she could think to do. Dirk tried to play it cool, like his ribs didn't hurt hum, but Roxy could see the pain through his smiles. She had seen it so many times in her own reflection. 

With Dirk's help Roxy found a way to get medicine through the apperaifier, and she gave him the recommended dose. He fell asleep in Rose's old room, Under Roxy's nervous watch. The room was much larger and cleaner than Roxy's was, but it brought back memories the teen would rather not face. Though it was going stale, the scent of Rose still lingered in the room, and Roxy felt sick sitting at the bed side. She held the bile in, something she had gotten much better at doing, and tucked Dirk in. As he closed his eyes she sang him the same lullaby her mother would sing when Roxy was sick. 

“Hush little child, everything will be fine 

Lay your head, find your peace of mind 

When I leave please don't cry for me 

You'll still have everything you need 

Stay young, stay brave, have fun 

keep hoping because one day 

your prince will come 

Of course, it didn't quite fit Dirk's situation like it fit Roxy's when she was five, but he was asleep anyway so it didn't matter. She stood for a moment, the memories of the room hovering over her like a ghost. Roxy started to shake, tears slipping down her cheeks. She just couldn't sing the song the same way her mother did. It had been far too long since she last heard it. Roxy leaned forward and kissed Dirk on the forehead before fleeing the room. She fell asleep with her tears soaking the pillow. 

Roxy found that sometimes life could be overwhelming, but she noticed that her lowest moments always came during the earliest hours of the morning. Everything is awful when you can't sleep at three in the morning. But when she finally did get sleep and woke up, life suddenly seemed real again, controllable even. And knowing that Dirk wasn't going to run off again, life actually seemed to be looking up when she woke up the next morning. 

Roxy awoke of her own accord, and stretched. She remembered crying the night before, missing her mom, but immediately pushed her misery away. Dirk needed her. Roxy made them a breakfast of what she could find around the kitchen, pretending to be a famous chef on a tv show. 

After they ate Dirk asked if they could start practicing immediately. Roxy refused, saying he needed rest. In the end they compromised. If Dirk could go for a simple walk and declare himself fine, they would practice with their weapons. Roxy knew he would lie about his injuries, but decided to give him the benefit of the doubt. They began their stroll around the city by walking around the courtyard that had served as their battlefield the day before. 

They skirted around the caution tape that AR had set up, which was wrapped around all the light posts and street signs he could find. The drones were still laying in the center of the courtyard, pieces of their armor strewn across the area. The one that Roxy shot lay several yards away from the rest of them, and she couldn't spot where it's head had landed. She smiled, taking a bot of pride in her skill. 

The taped of section was crowed with carapaces, staring in wide eyed wonder at the metallic carnage. Some of them looked surprised, but most of them looked scared. One of the them turned as Dirk and Roxy passed, and he let out a frightened squeak. His friend looked up at the noise, and as soon as he spotted the teenagers they left in a hurry. A few of the other carapaces watched them nervously. 

“Does this happen often?” Dirk asked Roxy as they watched the black pieces' fleeing figures. 

“Most of them just tolerate me. Since my mom died I've sorta kinda been that intoxicated girl who's really loud and puts them all in danger. Whenever a few drones get killed they tend to stay away from me for a while. Though last time it wasn't me that killed the drones, it was some weird-o rapping robot. I forget what his name was though. Hatched fang? Knife jaw? No, I'm pretty sure I was super drunk when I met him.” Roxy replied, the words rolling off her tongue as rapidly as she could think of them. 

”Oh.” Was all Dirk managed. He looked away from her, deeper into the floating city. “Where did you say all your guns were stashed away?” 

Roxy put her pointer finger to her lips and hissed at him. “Shh!” She glanced around to make sure none of the carapaces were looking at them. Just about every single alien within earshot was staring. Roxy wasted a few seconds wondering if carapaces even had ears before turning back to Dirk. “They don't really like weapons, so I try to keep them hidden.” 

Dirk gave a curt nod of his head. “Sorry.” He muttered. He looked around the courtyard before discretely shifting his arm, as if to hide the weapon at his waist. 

” Well there's not much point to trying to hide that now, is there?” Roxy snorted. “I'm pretty sure they've all seen it.” 

“Well why didn't you tell me earlier?” Dirk quipped. 

Roxy simply shrugged. “you know, I forgot it was a weapon until I saw what it could do again. But now that I think about it, I feel safer seeing it on you.” She commented. She nodded her head at the sliced drones in front of them and smiled. 

Dirk seemed to accept her reply, and they continued on their way. Any form of conversation died away, the two of them simply enjoying the others presence. After several minutes Roxy stopped them in front of a rusty mailbox. While Dirk watched she pulled a small pistol from it's hiding spot. “Just be sure not to tell PM where I keep it.” Roxy grimaced as she put a finger to her lips. “She was a mail lady back on her home planet, and she took her job very seriously. She'd absolutely wring my neck!” 

Dirk nodded solemnly but he was smiling at her. He took the gun from her outstretched hand and stared at it. Slowly, he lifted the barrel, pointing the weapon at a window on the other side of the street. Roxy raised an eyebrow, but he didn't pull the trigger. “Where can we practice in peace, without your alien friends getting freaked out?” 

“I'll show you my shooting range!” Roxy announced, pulling an ammo pack from deeper in the mail box. Dirk stared at her, and then at the hiding spot. “What? Always be prepared or whatever.” 

The crossed the street and continued walking for several more blocks. Finally they came across a large building that looked like it had made electrical equipment years ago. Now it was in shambles, proof the queen had long since given up on the town. Roxy crawled through a broken window and opened the door for Dirk. Inside was just as deserted as the outside was. The walls were covered with crudely drawn circles, and the bulls eyes were worn down from the number of times they had been hit. A few of the windows were cracked and taped over, but most of them, like the one Roxy had come in through, were all but missing. The equipment was scattered across the floor, mostly knocked over. Several had bullet holes from all the pretend fire fights Roxy had staged. 

While Dirk poked around the mess Roxy loaded a bullet into the pistol. “You might want to cover your ears. It's kinda loud at first.” She warned, and then pointed the gun at one of the red circles on the wall. A loud crack tore through the room, and chips of the wall flew away from the bulls eye. Roxy turned to look at Dirk, who had a faint smile on his lips and both hands over his ears. 

“Nice shot.” He grinned, reaching forward to take the gun from her. Roxy patiently showed him how to load it, doing it herself first and then taking the bullet back out for him to practice. Dirk waited for her to finish talking before aiming the gun at one of the other circles. 

The wall a few feet from the target exploded, sending bits of plaster raining down. Dirk dripped the gun and put his hands to his injured side, exclaiming in pain. 

“Oh!” Roxy cried in fright. He had looked so well today, walking and conversating normally, she forgot he was still hurt. “I'm so sorry I I didn't tell you about the kick back! It's not a whole lot from such a small gun but you're still hurt and... and...” She wanted to cry looking at the pain on his face. She could be so stupid sometimes. 

After a moment dirk shook his head. “No, I'm fine.” He insisted, standing straight up. He winced. “Okay, less than fine. I don't want to give up on the gun though, can we come back to this on another day?” He smiled weakly as he handed back the gun. 

Roxy nodded, tucking the gun into her waist band, and holding onto the ammo box. They left the range just as quickly as they entered, and started the journey back across the town. When they returned to the mailbox Roxy hid her supplies. As she closed the lid she noticed a seagull on the building next to her. It gave a loud squawk and took off. 

“The gulls here are so annoying, but I can't say I've ever shot one.” Roxy commented as she watched it fly away. “I mean, we're so lucky to have life ourselves. What right would either of us have to take it away from someone else?” 

The next morning Dirk convinced Roxy to take him back to the shooting range. He promised to be more careful, now that he was prepared for the recoil. Finally Roxy agreed, and they went to retrieve the pistol from it's hiding spot. On top of that, Roxy made two more stops for a rifle and it's ammo. She allowed Dirk to take a shot every half hour, which gave him plenty of resting time. He wanted to learn more about the rifle, and Roxy obliged by showing him how to load it. She wouldn't let him shoot it, and eventually he gave up on asking to. 

While he rested, dirk let Roxy practice with the sword. She swung it at broken desks and upturned chairs, putting nicks in the already broken furniture. As the day wore on it became obvious that Roxy was terrible with a sword, and Dirk couldn't aim to save his life. It made her a bit guilty, but she was glad to finally be better at something than he was. 

Once they accepted they weren't getting any better at the others art, they gave up practicing and simply talked. It was so nice to finally have someone to, Roxy didn't even care what they were talking about. Roxy spouted anything that came to mind, and Dirk followed suit. They talked about how Roxy could beat any of the carapaces at Halo, about how Dirk used to swim through the ruins of his old city, they even talked a little about the people they had lost. That part of the conversation didn't last long. Thinking about her mom made Rosy want to stop talking. She stared up at the ceiling, remember how much she had cried the day her mom died. The ended up walking home after that, unable to think of anything else to say. 

As they walked they heard a shout from somewhere ahead of them. PM sprinted into view, skidding to a halt right in from of them. “Roxy! Oh Roxy!” She panted. Her face was clearly lined with terror, her eyes wide and panicked. “I've been looking for you everywhere!” She gasped between breathes. “He's with WQ right now, but he's hurt so bad. It's awful.” The carapace shuddered, as if she could see something they couldn't. 

“What's wrong?” Roxy asked in confusion. “Who's hurt? WV?” 

“No, not-” PM said. “It's another human!”


	5. Chp 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A new character approaches!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ok cool, def going to start updating regularly again  
> \- Apocalyptic soundtrack- All Fall Down; One Republic

Roxy froze. Two weeks ago she was the only human left on the planet, and now there's two more? What was going to be the next great discovery? A whole city of hidden people? Roxy shook her head, blond locks falling into her face. This was no time to be entertaining such frivolous thoughts. 

“Take us.” Roxy commanded seriously. 

PM nodded, and turned back the way she came from. Though she wasn't running anymore, she took to a quick pace that Dirk had to strain himself to keep up with. The carapace lead them to a new part of town that Roxy didn't traverse. She wondered vaguely if any of the friends she had in the area were still alive. 

The carapaces watched them from dark corners and barely open windows. Whatever human had washed up in their town this time had them all frightened. A large manor came into view, the largest house Roxy had ever seen. Not many of the carapaces could afford to own a house like this. Standing on the front steps was a tall white carapace with a black cat resting on her shoulders. For a fleeting second Roxy thought it was Frigglish, before it dawned on her that this was the carapace that had given her the cat in the first place so it was probably a kitten. The white woman lifted her arm to wave urgently at them, and Roxy noticed she was covered with blood. 

PM bowed slightly as they approached the carapace, and then stood up straight and waved Roxy and Dirk after her. The white queen stared down at the teenagers, worry clear on her face. She set the kitten down and moved back into the house, obviously meaning for them to follow. Roxy tried to take a step after her, but suddenly found she was shaking. Dirk put an arm around her. 

“It's going to be fine.” He whispered, but his voice was just as anxious as she felt. 

Roxy nodded at him. Maybe it wasn't going to be fine, but at least feeling his arm around her was keeping her from shaking. They followed the queen into her home. The living was as large and luxurious as a room can get for a queen living in the slums. There were pristine white couches, a black and white checkerboard rug, and a set of glass doors that seemed to lead deeper into the house. Roxy barely took in any of the glamor. What she did notice was the load groaning coming from down the hall, and a blood trail leading in the same direction. How could anyone loose this much and still be alive? Roxy felt like she was going to be sick. 

WQ was standing at the edge of the living room, waving at them to continue following her. Roxy didn't even notice she was holding Dirk's hand until he squeezed her's. She looked down and then back up at him, but couldn't think of anything to say. Together they passed through the glass doors and went further down the hall. It didn't take long to come across a door that was slightly ajar. Inside was an occupied bed which the queen was bending down next to, and blood. It was splattered across the floor and the walls, pooling on the bed. The queen took a step back, taking a crimson soaked towel with her so that they could see who it was. 

The man on the bed was missing an arm, and despite her best efforts the man's face was still covered in blood. It was hard to tell the extent of his injuries, but Roxy saw instantly that he was also missing an eye. Despite that, the slick blonde hair and one red eye was enough to tell who it was. Dave Strider. 

Roxy let out a small chirp as she recognized the man, and knew for a fact she was going to be sick. She dropped Dirk's hand and ran back through the living room, past the regal carpet and almost knocked over a lamp, until she was back outside. Roxy leaned into one of the cracks, heaving pathetically, but nothing came out. After a moment Roxy sat back, holding her head in her hands as if she could forget what she just saw. 

The door opened behind her, and WQ lowered herself to the ground next to Roxy. The queen didn't say anything, just put her arm around Roxy and rubbed her back. The teenager started crying into her knees, letting small shakes rack her body. “Will he survive?” She sobbed, trying not to hiccup. It was embarrassing enough to cry, but in front of a queen? 

The queen met Roxy's wide eyed stare. Of all the carapaces the windswept questant was the one who looked most human. She still had the hard white exoskeleton that was the trademark of her race, but her head was oval shaped instead of round, and her body was curvy instead of flat. Her eyes were thin black almonds, but she was just as expressive as any person. Now she was wearing a hard expression. “He is strong, He will be in much pain for a long time, but that is the burden of survival.” 

Roxy nodded and leaned into her. They stayed together on the porch for several minutes before the door opened again and Dirk stepped out. He sat down on Roxy's other side, trying not to speak but letting a small gasping noise escape. Roxy couldn't see his eyes behind his broken triangular sun glasses, but he was extremely pale. 

“Dirk.” Roxy said, wiping away her tears and holding her arms out. 

”I'm fine.” He repeated the words like they were a survival mantra for him. Roxy knew that no matter how much he said it he was never really fine. He leaned into her hug anyways. 

The white queen stood up at that. “I'm going back in. PM and myself know a little about healing, but I will have real doctors here shortly. A few of my most trusted friends. Your brother is in good hands.” She nodded at Dirk, who nodded stiffly back. 

Roxy looked at both at them for a moment, knowing something was wrong but not exactly sure what. Then it hit her. Brother. Neither of them knew that Dave was Dirk's dad. Roxy tried to sit still. What sort of person lies about being a father? Why bother with it? Telling Dirk that they were brothers instead of father and son didn't make it any easier to lose him. 

Roxy opened her mouth, but quickly realized it wasn't her place to correct him. Instead she tried to think of anything else to say. A thought came to her. “I have medicine, back at the house. The stuff I've been giving to Dirk for his pain! Should I bring that here?” She asked. 

WQ tilted her head curiously. “Yes, I'm sure that would help in the long run. If you could bring all of it that you could spare I'm sure that would-” 

“We can spare all of it!” Dirk shouted forcefully, looking up at the queen. “I don't need it anymore.” 

“Yes you do!” Roxy shouted back, taking both of them by surprise. “You're hurt! I don't care if you feel like you need to hide it, I won't let you get re-injured because you didn't want to take it easy anymore and quite your meds! Please? I don't want to have to worry about you anymore.” 

Dirk stared at her, his eyebrows knitted with concern. Finally he sighed, and reached up to rub his eyes. “We'll bring what we can spare.” He said. 

WQ nodded and stepped back inside her home, shutting the door behind her. Dirk leaned back and rested against the door, refusing to take his gaze from Roxy. “You know this is what I was talking about, back on the first day I woke up here. It's not that I don't like you Rox, it's not that at all, it's just that I can't. I can't fall in love anymore, because I'm so afraid that the next day you'll be dead. The Batter Witch didn't just make it impossible to live. She made it impossible to love. And let's be honest, you didn't help your case with all the drinking.” His gaze hardened. “And you kinda jumped the gun at our first meeting, with the whole 'last two people on earth' bit.” 

Roxy tried to think of a reply to his reasoning, but she honestly couldn't think of any sort of argument to use against him. Inside that horrible room and bleeding out, Dave was irrefutable proof that they could die suddenly any day. She got to her feet slowly, stretching her arms to the sky above them. “I'm not going to say you're wrong Dirk, but I won't tell you you're right. Just don't wait until it's too late to decide you want to live a little before you go ahead and die.” 

Dirk regarded her, but didn't say anything. Roxy let her arms fall back to her sides and made a move to walk away, only to find a strong hand around her wrist. She looked back down at Dirk. “Where are you going?” He asked, suddenly sounding very small. 

“I was going to go get the medicine. Did you want me to stay here with you?” Roxy asked. 

“Don't leave me.” Dirk replied, standing up to be next to her. “There's nothing I could do if I stayed here. Not while I'm like this.” 

Roxy nodded, and took his hand. Together they headed back to the strange laboratory that Roxy called home. They took as long as they could, using streets they normally wouldn't, and stopping by the ocean to watch the sunset. They never once let go of the others hand. As they walked Roxy could feel the stress leave her. Something about being outside and away from Dave that calmed her. However, the walk seemed to be having the exact opposite affect on Dirk. The boy was pale, and by time they reached the house he was shaking. He tried to laugh it off, but they both knew that Roxy wasn't falling for his tough guy routine anymore. Through gentle persuasion Roxy was able to convince him to lay down, and to no ones surprise he didn't want her to leave his side. Roxy found herself blushing as she sat next to his prone figure on the bed, gently tracing circles on the back of his hand with her thumb. They sat together for half an hour, not speaking, until Dirk had stopped shaking. 

“Do you want to get the medicine and head back now?” Roxy asked gently, finally taking her hand from his. Dirk didn't look like he would fall apart without her support anymore. She stood up slowly, walking to Rose's dresser to where the pills were. 

Roxy picked up the bottle Dirk created with her machine and twisted it open. How much could they spare? Dirk watched her, sitting up and stretching out. Roxy looked for something she could transfer some of the pills into, and came up with a small jewelry box. She opened it, taking out the gold necklace inside. Who needed jewelry in this crap ass world anyway? 

When Dirk had first been injured Roxy tried to look up anything she could do to help him. What she got was a list of pills that 'might' be of use to her. Penicillin if he wasn't allergic, and other inflammatory pills and pain killers. What meager supplies she had managed to get to Dirk seemed to be working, but she decided she would ask the carapace doctor to give Dirk an exam when they went back. 

Roxy took two of the pills away from the rest of them and handed them to Dirk. She pointed to the kitchen, instructing him to take them before they went back to see Dave. Dirk nodded obediently and walked from the room. Roxy took the jewelry box and sat down in the front room to wait. She took purchase on the couch, picking up one of her mom's wizard books to read while she waited. 

A minute rolled by, followed by another and another until suddenly it had been ten minutes and Dirk wasn't back from the kitchen yet. Roxy closed the book and set it on the coffee table, standing up so quickly the jewelry box fell from her lap. She scrambled to pick it up, tying it in her scarf so she wouldn't lose it again. 

“Dirk?” She called, walking back into the kitchen. Maybe he just took the pills and went to the bathroom? Roxy stared at an empty kitchen, wishing she could up with any reason he wouldn't be here that didn't include the word 'missing'. Then she noticed the back door was still hanging open. “Oh god damnit.” Roxy hissed. 

With an angry huff Roxy marched back through the house and kicked open her front door. He had a good ten minute head start, but Dirk was still injured and she could run. The night air was blissfully cool as Roxy took off at a full sprint. She raced past the black and white homes with their black and white inhabitants, thinking briefly that if she could just go a little faster it would all blur together and become grey. Everything already felt that way. 

At a full sprint Roxy reached the house in fifteen minutes, stopping to catch her breath at the front door before pushing her way in. In the living room she found WQ talking rapidly to one of the carapace doctors, and watched as he tried to scribble down everything she said. They looked up as she approached them. 

Roxy tried to retain her anger as she walked, but could feel the emotion draining from her. What was the pointing? “Is he-” She started, intending to ask if Dirk was in the room when she was silenced by the white Queen putting a slender finger to her lips. Roxy started, but let the unfinished question fall from her mind. You don't ignore an order from a queen, even if she isn't yours. 

Roxy leaned against the wall next to the queen, straining her ears to hear what was going on in the room. WQ gave her a small sad look, and walked back into the living room. She dragged the doctor with her, giving Roxy a chance to be alone. 

Once their backs were turned Roxy closed the distance between her and the room Dave was in. Inside the room there was silence, she held her breath so she wouldn't miss anything. Then she heard a mumble of a voice, Dirk was speaking. He words were too low for Roxy to make out, and she nudged the door with her foot. It opened slowly, enough for her to hear what was going on inside but not enough to catch Dirk's attention. Roxy couldn't even be sure of her motivation for eavesdropping instead of outright barging into the room. Dirk shouldn't have to suffer through this alone anymore, but still she remained in the hallway, trying to catch their words. 

“Hey... Bro.” Came a short reply. Dave was talking? After everything he had been through, all the blood he lost, he was not only still alive but still awake? 

“I missed you.” Dirk said in a quiet voice. 

There was a small gurling noise, and it took Roxy a moment to place it. Dave was laughing. “Striders n't cry.” He commented in a gravelly voice. 

“Where have you been?” Dirk shot back, but Roxy could heart him hiccuping. There was a shuffling noise that could have only been him rubbing his eyes. 

“Wiff er imperial consenson.” 

If there was a chance for the room to become quieter still, this was it. Even Roxy's blood seemed to stop in her veins, wholly unable to believe what she had just heard. Dave had not just been misplaced for the past few weeks, he had been held captive by the troll that claimed ownership of the damned planet? 

“She's stopped killen people a ew eers bak. Strted holdin us.” His voice was garbled, getting more distressed as he spoke more, but still Dave plowed on with his story. “I met her, ut I fink shee let me go.” 

Roxy leaned against the wall and slid to the floor, trying to hold tears on. The condescension was capturing people now? It's a bit to late for that Roxy thought bitterly, there's only three of us left. 

Dirk seemed to be thinking the exact same thing. “Why would she be holding onto people? That makes no sense! And if she were trying to capture people now, why would she let you go?” 

“To ssssend uh messege. I asn't the only one. She ad others.” He started rasping off a small list, of people who could have only been the other prisoners. It was so short, but Roxy couldn't help but feel pity for the people she didn't know. “Jede, Hurly, Ill.” 

Roxy wasn't sure what she was expecting of the list. To know anyone? Chances were Dave was pronouncing their names wrong in his delirious state. But still she listened to him, something fluttering in her chest. A feeling she hadn't felt in a long while. Hope. 

Then it happened. A name, one name she didn't even realize she had been listening for. It was whispered at the end of the list, so low Roxy almost didn't hear it. 

“Rose.” 

But she did, and Roxy let out a scream.


	6. chp 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> shocking revelations swept under the rug by the awful reality that is war.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> School's gonna start again soon and I want to get through as much as I can before then.  
> \- Apocalyptic soundtrack- Dreaming; Smallpools

Several things happened at once as she screamed, though it wasn't all a reaction to her. Roxy clamped her hands over her mouth, as if she could take back the noise. Dirk pulled the door open in surprise, while Dave tried to sit up to see who it was. The effort of the action proved to be too much for him, and his eye rolled into the back of his head as he passed out. He fell back into his bloody sheets with a soft thump. Dirk turned to look back at his brother, letting out a yelp of fear and darting to the bed. Roxy stood up, apologizes forming on her lips when WV burst into the hall way screaming at the top of his lungs. 

”We're under attack!” 

Dirk and Roxy both halted when they heard the roar. 

Dirk gave his brother a one last fleeting look, a mix of fear and desperation on his face. He quickly came to a decision and turned to Roxy. From the look on her face it was clear she was just as scared as he was. 

Roxy grabbed his arm. “That wasn't a drone.” 

”That was a lusus.” Dirk replied gravely. “I saw one once, long before I even met you. I was just barely old enough to remember, it was this terrible huge white monster. Looked kinda like a crab. We almost didn't get away from it.” He paused, as if the memory was still gave him chills. “but it didn't sound like this one. We need to see what kind of creature we're dealing with here.” 

“WV, could you stay with Dave?” Roxy pleaded, and the carapace nodded at her. 

With his promise to be a guardian, Dirk sprinted from the room pulling Roxy behind him. She wasn't sure what to expect when they left the manor. Maybe she was waiting for a monster to be right outside the door, for the citizens of the city to be panicking. Instead there was nothing. Not a single carapace was on the street, no monster, not even a seagull flying in the sky. 

“Don't let the calm fool you.” Dirk said quickly, as if reading her mind. He took a step into the street, scanning the night sky nervously. “It's probably hiding somewhere.” 

As if on cue there was a loud crash from several streets down. No, crash didn't exactly convey the jarring feeling, the bits of wreckage raining down around them. Dirk pushed Roxy against the wall, wrapping his arms protectively around her. The worst of the debris missed them completely, and Dirk only received a small cut to his arm. They both looked up from where they were hiding and finally spotted the lusus. 

The monster was a huge white goat, with eyes that looked like two balls of purple fire. It was currently smashing a home in half with it's massive hoof. Tiny pieces of the house fell to the ground beneath it. No, Roxy gasped, not the ground. The sea. The lusus had created a hole in the floating city. As she watched a massive fin rose above the roof tops and splashed back down into the water, taking another house with it. Not even a goat, a Capricorn. 

Suddenly Roxy was tugging on Dirk's hand. “We need to go.” She whispered, scared that it would be able to hear her if she were any louder. “There's no way we could fight something that big.” 

“We have to try.” Dirk hissed back, but allowed himself to be tugged away by the smaller teenager. Roxy quickly decided to head back to her own home in a round about way. Roxy would never be able to forgive herself if the lusus attacked WQ's or even PM's house. 

“Try to kill this thing? Hey cool, no problem.” Roxy managed a nervous chuckle. The words 'actual problem' and 'no chance in hell' came to mind when she thought about it, but Roxy knew dirk was right. They had to try. Maybe if they could make it to one of her rifles they could hunt the thing from a distance. The teen shook her head as she ran. The city was huge, but Roxy wasn't sure it was big enough to stay away from something as large as the lusus was. 

Roxy stopped as she reached the hiding spot with her best rifle. She scaled a trash can, grabbing onto the roof of carapace she didn't know, and swung up onto the tiles. With a swift kick one of the panels came loose and fell to the ground next to where Dirk was waiting for her. Roxy pulled a rifle from the sizable cache beneath it. 

Dirk climbed up after her, taking the same path she had. They could still see the monster, it was hard not to. The beast was a few hundred feet away, a pale shape against the dark sky. It moved slowly away from them, a large path of destruction in it's wake. 

When drones came to the city they moved with purpose. Destroy what they were sent after and move on their way. This thing, this lusus, it didn't seem to have a purpose. It was attacking homes at random, lashing out before dipping back into the sea, only to burst back up somewhere new. Then Roxy realize that it did have a purpose. To destroy. Everything. 

“Can you hit it from here?” Dirk asked nervously, staring at the weapon in her hands. 

Roxy almost scoffed at him. Of course she could hit it. She simply nodded at him. “But can I kill it?” Roxy replied solemnly. 

Dirk frowned at her and took his sunglasses off. They would only hinder him now that it was dark out. Roxy had forgotten just how much she loved his orange eyes. He drew the sword from the holster on his hip and pointed it at the capricorn. “We might as well try. Either way, we might lose everything.” 

Roxy let her shoulder sag. “It seems like that's how I'm making all of my decisions recently. Which option will cause me to lose the least?” 

Dirk didn't reply, and just watched as she laid down in the prone position. Roxy moved her rifle until the lusus was in her sights and took a deep breath. She forgot how easy it was to lose herself in the hunt. The lusus moved, the rifle moving with it as Roxy predicted how it was going to move. She felt the wind on her skin, taking it into account. After a moment she took a slow breath and smiled. 

Once the small breath was gone from her body, Roxy pulled the trigger. The rifle went off with a loud crack, and across the city they watched as the lusus jerked forward suddenly. 

Roxy let out a triumphant whoop, which was quickly cut short. The creature planted a monstrous hoof in the ground to catch it's balance and stood back up. A thin trickle of purple blood started to leak down it's neck, but the thing was clearly not killed by the direct hit. The lusus let out a furious roar and turned it's gaze to where the teenagers were standing in plain view. Before either of them could move it jumped forward and slid back into the waiting ocean. There was a loud splash, and every trace of the monster was gone. 

Dirk pulled urgently on Roxy's arm, dragging her to her feet so quickly she dropped the gun. “We need to move, right now!” He shouted, already trying to drag them from the roof. Roxy nodded, freeing herself from his grip so should could move more freely. They didn't bother with the trash can, and simply jumped into the street. Roxy rolled gracefully to her feet, as Dirk struggled to his. She offered him a hand, and the second he was standing they took off at a full sprint. Roxy took the lead, Dirk close to her heels. 

Roxy racked her brain for anything that could help them. Any sort of building that could offer more than a minimal amount of protection from the rampaging goat. As they tore down the streets Roxy decided where they could go. A few streets over was a warehouse, with a better structure than the normal carapace houses. It was used for storing equipment, and it might just be able to keep them safe from the lusus. 

Just as she turned onto the street the ground shook beneath them. Roxy lost her balance and was thrown to the ground as the Capricorn burst through the house they had just been standing on. Dirk let out a small bark of pain letting her know he had been tripped up as well. The lusus roared at nothing in particular before realizing the teens were gone. It surveyed the nearby grounds for them, but Roxy had rolled into the closest doorway, dragging the injured Dirk with her. This wasn't going the way she planned, not even close. 

“Why does it want to destroy my town?” Roxy whispered in frustration, tears starting to roll down her cheeks. She was panting heavily, winded by their short sprint. 

Dirk reached up and wiped the tear away, somehow managing to remain calm despite the situation they were in. “We can't give up.” 

The lusus snapped it's head towards them then, a low rumbling coming from it's mouth. It's breath was coming in heavy gasps, and a few drops of puuple blood splashed to the ground beneath it. The monster raised a hoof high in the air, and stomped the house next to them, crushing it completely. 

Dirk's shout of “Run!” turned out to be completely unnecessary as Roxy was already back on her feet. 

They only made it a few steps before the beast swept it's tail at them. The house they were hiding near was completely flattened, and on the backlash the tail caught Dirk. He went sprawling, his sword clattering to the ground. As Roxy watched he slipped into one of the cracks, his hands flailing uselessly for a purchase. There may have been a splash as he hit the water, but it was lost in the cacophony of the Capricorn destroying another house. 

Roxy let out a scream, not really adding anything but more noise to the din around her. She staggered forward, blind to everything but the crack in the city where she had last seen Dirk. The Capricorn planted a hoof over the crack suddenly, as if it weren't even aiming for Roxy. It was just toying with her now. Roxy let out another scream, and fell to her knees. As her hand hit the ground she felt something cold. Roxy stared at Dirk's sword. 

She grabbed the blade from the ground and resolved to do something incredibly stupid. She pulled herself to her feet, taking the stance she had seen Dirk take a dozen times before. She knew she was absolute rubbish with the sword, but she wasn't aiming to win this battle. The lusus made a wheezing noise, and Roxy swore it was laughing at her. 

“Give him back you son of a-” Roxy screamed, her voice shrill. She was beyond caring what she sounded like. She swung the blade forward with all of her strength, knowing she couldn't do it how Dirk did. She could never be as good as him, but she didn't have to. More purple blood sprayed across the ground as the sword cut cleanly through the monster's skin. The lusus's guttural laugh changed into a roar of fury. Roxy was knocked back in surprise. She couldn't do anything but hold the blade up again and stare as the hoof was raised just above her. 

Without warning something gold shot out from the crack Dirk had fallen into. There was a satisfying noise as the trident hit it's mark, cutting through the center of the goat's forehead. It's roar was cut short and the momentum of the attack forced it to fall away from Roxy with another thunderous crash. Roxy stared at the weapon protruding from it's head, her breath catching in her throat. She had never seen a real one before, but even she knew what the trident was. Everyone did. It was the weapon the Condescension used. 

Roxy stood up and brushed her knees off. She had scraped her knees one of the many times she had fallen, and a blood was starting to drip down into her shoes. Roxy rubbed the blood off into her scarf when a figure jumped up through the same crack the trident had come from. Roxy stared, unable to comprehend what she was staring at. 

A woman was standing in front of her, all smiles and sharp teeth. In the woman's arms was Dirk, who appeared to be unconscious. His sun glasses were gone, and they were both soaking wet from the water they had just escaped from. Even with Dirk right in front of her, Roxy couldn't stop staring at the alien holding him. 

She was more human the carapaces were, but just barely. Her skin was light grey, and she had small fins on the side of her head. Her teeth were tiny needles, but were bared in a manner that was clearly meant to exhibit pleasure. The woman had two yellow horns on the top of her head, sitting atop a tangle of black hair. She was wearing a black wet suit, bright pink goggles, and was decorated lavishly in gold chains. Roxy held herself up, everything she knew told her the troll in front of her was the queen, but something about the conclusion didn't settle with her. 

The troll took a step away from the crack and knelt down, gently laying Dirk on the ground. She pushed her goggles just under her crown, revealing startling yellow eyes and magenta irises. She tugged at her wet suit to adjust it and strode confidently towards the fallen lusus. Roxy watched her go, eying the pink symbol on her chest wearily. 

“I knew that horrid woman wouldn't keep her promise. As soon as I turned my back she sent out that nasty goat. It's a good thing I followed it, or you two would be goners.” The alien commented lightly in a high pitched voice. She stepped on the goats head, Roxy noticed she had on pink wet shoes, and pulled her trident out in a deft motion. More purple blood splattered to the ground, mixing with the red that belong to the humans and the carapaces. 

It was something about the tone of her voice when the woman said 'goners' that finally diverts Roxy's attention back to Dirk. Wordlessly Roxy ran toward him, ignoring the troll's surprised yelp. She slid next to him, trying to keep herself from panicking. He was bleeding badly from a cut on his forehead, and there was a thin trickle of blood coming from his mouth. Without having to check Roxy knew he had internal damage. How was she supposed to fix something like this? 

She pulled him into her lap, hugging him close and sobbing. What did it matter if her mom, his dad, everyone else was still alive if she lost Dirk now? 

“Oh!” The woman exclaimed suddenly. She took a careful step toward Roxy. “Oh, please don't cry! I can help you!” 

Roxy stared helplessly at her, not wanting to put her trust in someone she didn't know. Someone who looked like the queen who had put her in this mess in the first place. “he's going to die?” Roxy choked. 

“No no no!” The alien, who didn't to realize how uncomfortable she was making Roxy, chided. She put a ling to Roxy's lips to shush her. “He's not going to die, and neither are you!” She papped Roxy on the cheek. “I don't know a whole lot about your alien biology, but I do know I can heal him!” 

Roxy stared back at this woman, who couldn't be much older than she was. Maybe her late twenties. Her whole posture, all her words, radiated kindness and authority. It had to be that, the way she moved so gracefully and so confidently, that convinced Roxy to let go of Dirk and take a step back so the alien could work. Besides, at what else did she have to lose at this point? 

The alien held her hands over Dirk, a look of concentration on her face. Slowly her palms started to glow green. Once they were a satisfactory shade, the woman pressed her hands against Dirk's chest. The glow spread across his body like a catching fire until he was wrapped in the soft low. Roxy held her breath. 

Suddenly Dirk coughed up a mouthful of blood and saltwater before sitting up. The troll withdrew her hands and smiled, the green evaporating as quickly as it had appeared. Roxy let out the breath she had been holding, laughing with joy. She threw herself forward, her arms around Dirk before she could stop herself. 

He looked at her with surprise, but quickly smiled and hugged her back. “I'm sorry Roxy.” He whispered. 

“You're still here, you have no reason to be.” Roxy replied. 

They were quiet for a moment, simply glad to both be alive when Roxy remembered there was someone else with them. She looked at the alien girl and smiled lightly. “Thank you so much.” 

Dirk looked up at her for the first time and gave a start. “Who are you?” He spluttered. 

The woman smiled her shark grin at them. She tossed her black hair and sat up. “I am the princess of the trolls, the Condescension's sister, Feferi Piexes.”


	7. chp 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We welcome you to the party Feferi. Here's a complimentary 'everyone I love is suffering horribly' tee shirt

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> classes start in less than a week. goodbye free time!   
>  \- Apocalyptic soundtrack- Lies; Marina and the Diamonds

Roxy found herself staring at the troll, not one hundred percent sure she just heard the woman correctly. “You're the Condescension's sister?” She balked. 

“Well, I'm not really her sister, but that's the closet human equivalent I could find. We share the same blood color!” She added, as if it meant anything to Roxy. She stood up suddenly, looking around her as if searching for something. “Now, where did that human go, the one she let go? I wanted to heal him to.” 

Feferi was nowhere as regal as her sister was. Though Roxy had never met her, images of the empress were scattered across the city. The princess wore brightly colored bangles around her arms and neck, the sort that wouldn't look out of place at in a preteen girl's jewelry box. Her wet suit looked more like a bathing suit than any sort of royal garb, and her wet shoes were honest to god crocs on closer inspection. Roxy would have never guessed the young troll was royalty if not for the golden crown perched atop her head. 

“You can heal him?” Dirk asked, unable to hide the hope in his voice. He stood up slowly, before realizing his caution was completely unnecessary. He probed his rib cage experimentally. “You fixed the ribs I broke a couple of days ago?” 

“It's the least I can do.” Feferi smiled back at him. 

As they walked back to the White Queen's manor Feferi explained her situation to the best of her ability. She had lived on her home planet of Alternia until she turned nine sweeps, which was approximately twenty human years. Once reaching adulthood most trolls are sent to various planets to learn the trade their blood color dictated. Since Feferi was a magenta blood and thus a heiress, she and her designated partner were sent to help with the destruction of other planets. 

But Feferi wasn't planning on helping. 

She hated her elder's ambitions, and the fact that her race had done nothing but conquer for the past hundreds of sweeps. Feferi commanded her pilot take her straight to the world her 'sister' was on to challenge her for the throne. A risky move, but one she had been waiting for years. However when Feferi got to Earth she was devastated to find out the planet had already been flooded and was beyond saving. 

Dejected to have arrived too late, Feferi almost gave up her mission. Then she discovered the Condescension had left a few humans alive for her own amusement. Feferi confronted the Empress, demanding the humans be released, and the Condescension decided to humor her. Dave was selected and set free. She fully intended to kill Dave once he was out of Feferi's sight, which was no secret to either of them, but she hadn't planned on Feferi's partner protecting Dave. While grievously wounded, Dave survived and was brought to the city they suspected other humans were still living at. 

Again the Condescension tried to kill Dave while Feferi wasn't paying attention by sending the Capricorn lusus after him. Feferi commanded her friend to stay behind and guard the rest of the humans, and once they were secure under his watch she herself left to hunt the goat. Now that it was dead, Feferi would be able to properly heal Dave before she had to go back to her sister's ship. She had a fight she needed to prepare for. 

“I should have challenged her already, I could have prevented David from getting injured in the first place.” Feferi finished sadly, her hands curled into fists at her side. Though they had reached the Queen's palace close to ten minutes ago, they stayed outside to finish listening to Feferi's story with fascination. Roxy had no idea where the Empress had come from, and it was incredible learning that not all of her species was so pointlessly cruel and heartless. 

Dirk however was not so impressed with her story. “You're just going to fight Condy? Then what happens to us? Do all the people just magically come back to life? Does the the Earth become unflooded? That's assuming you win your grudge match.” He asked through gritted teeth. 

Feferi frowned back at Dirk, shifting her trident from hand to hand fretfully. “I brought my friend from home to help me. He's a good fighter. I know the Empress brought an ancient Drangon lusus with her, but the most powerful lusus is still on our home planet. Our mother. If I get killed in our fight our mom will get upset, and that's an outcome Condy can't afford.” 

“Why?” Asked Roxy. “What happens if you die?” 

Feferi sighed. “I guess things can't seem even worse for you than they are now, but if my mom cries her voice will destroy the entire universe.” 

“Now that a happy thought.” Dirk rolled his eyes. 

“So your mom can destroy the universe, but mine is still trapped on your sister's ship.” Roxy pointed out. She felt a cold seed of worry grow in her stomach. “Can I come with you? I want to help!” 

Dirk and Feferi stared at her, both of their expressions kept carefully neutral. Roxy suddenly felt self conscious under their gaze, it wasn't like she wanted to sit back and wait for the princess to save her mother! She wanted to fight back now, she had her whole life and now the perfect opportunity had presented itself. Roxy had only expected Dirk to be more supportive of the idea. 

“You want to help fight the Condescension?” Dirk asked, the blatant disbelief in his voice like a slap to the face. He must have noticed because he quickly added: “Your gun didn't do more than enrage the lusus, what makes you think you can do anything against the queen of this hell hole?” 

“No, no, you may be able to do something.” Feferi shook her head, disagreeing with him vehemently. “You may not be able to take down an adult troll ,but if you two are good with weapons there will be other forces I need help dealing with. There's still the dragon lusus that needs to be slayed, as well as the numerous drones that guard the palace.” 

“Oh, and will this palace be above or below sea level?” Dirk snorted. He shook his head at the distressed look Roxy was giving him. “Look, if you two want to discuss this insane idea of yours, you have fun. But I know it's a horrible idea and I will take no part in it. Can we just deal with this later and heal my bro now?” 

“Dirk.” Roxy pleaded, hating how desperate she sounded. She needed him to be on her side for this, why couldn't he see how important this was? “How can you say it's a bad idea? This is my mother! I'm not going to leave her!” 

“I know who it is! What's the point of saving her if you die trying?” Dirk snapped back. He gritted his teeth as he looked at her, but he didn't let up. “I know it's hard Roxy, but we can't be taking huge risks like this.” 

Without waiting for a response he turned on his heels and stepped into the WQ's home. Feferi gave the teen a nervous glance before following him. Roxy stared at the door as it swung shut, suddenly finding herself completely alone. She didn't go after Dirk, not right away at least. Roxy turned her eyes onto the city instead. During the attack a good number of the buildings had been crushed. Roxy was terrified for all the carapaces, the ones she knew, the ones she didn't. The ones who hated her for existing, and the ones who had risked everything to keep her alive. Some of them died this night. 

Instead of dwelling on her horrible present Roxy tried to think of her immediate future instead. What was she going to do about her current situation? Rose, her mother whom she had thought dead for the better part of seven years, was now alive again. Like a zombie from the grave. Rose and several other humans were alive at the Condescension's home. How could Dirk not want to help them? The humans left were probably scared, and completely at the empress's mercy. But now that Feferi was here, they had a chance. Even if it was risky, Roxy was going to fight. She had to. 

Finally Roxy pushed her way into the white castle after her companions. WV and WQ were sitting together on the couch, talking in hushed tones. They looked up as Roxy walked toward them. “Did you see Feferi?” WV asked excitedly as he jumped up to greet her. “I can't believe she's actually here, I heard about her when I was younger and now she's actually here!” 

“You guys know her?” Roxy asked, accepting the hug WV gave her. Honestly she could use some hugs right about now. 

“Royalty meets.” WQ replied in a nonchalant way. “And the kinder ones tend to stay in my mind better than others.” 

Roxy nodded, though it seemed a bit surreal to think of WQ and Feferi as friends. WV took her hand and pulled her down the hallway towards Dave's room. He kept whispering excitedly, letting her know that yes, Feferi was indeed this way. He let go once they reached the room, and Roxy stepped in as the green fire slowly faded away from the body on the bed. The man remained tinged for a moment before the color evaporated. 

Dirk looked up at Roxy once the fire was out, his expression frustratingly blank. The way he tapped his finger against his bicep was an indicator he was still mad, but at least he had calmed down some. Feferi looked between them, sensing the tension in the room. She stood up to her full height, and impressive six feet, and quickly left the room. Roxy waved as she passed, but decided to stay and talk to Dave. 

On the bed in front of them the man was stirring. It looked like the green fire had taken his pain away, but Feferi's healing powers were unable to return to him the eye and arm he had lost. Roxy didn't realize she had been expecting his limbs to return until they didn't. It was preposterous she knew, he wasn't a lizard. Dave let a low groan escape his lips and tried to sit up. Dirk knelt next to him, but Dave didn't seem to notice him. Instead Dave noticed what was missing. He used his right hand to trace his injured eye and shoulder. Where there had been open savage wounds minutes ago were now sealed scars. Once he rubbed the dried blood away Roxy saw that he still had his right eye, but it was cloudy and useless. Once he took inventory of what was there and what wasn't Dave tried to sit up again, this time accomplishing his task. He turned his good eye towards Dirk and Roxy. 

“Bro.” Dirk said slowly. 

“What's up Dirky?” Dave asked slowly. His lips twitched, but instead of smiling he gave them a particularly foul grimace. Then he blinked his good eye at Roxy and the false smile dropped. “Roxy? Is that you?” 

“Yeah.” Was the only thing Roxy could think to say. 

At the sound of her voice Dave started to cry. Roxy and Dirk both jumped in surprise, unsure of how to react. “You're alive.” Dave laughed through his tears, and reached up to rub his eyes. “Oh god, you're alive Roxy! Rose asked about you, when I met her in those horrible cells. She was so worried and I couldn't comfort her because I didn't know, but you're alive.” 

While he was distracted Roxy smoothed down a ruffle in her skirt. She looked carefully from Dave to Dirk. Even with Dave's injuries they looked so similar. The same strong jaw line, the same sandy blonde hair. It was uncanny seeing Dave again after so long. Dave covered his eyes with his hand and wept silently. He was crying with relief, she had made a grown man cry with relief. 

Dirk sat down on the edge of the bed. “Hey bro, Striders don't cry.” He chided. 

Dave snorted in reply, and looked up at his son. The flow of tears was already subsiding, and the man sniffled one last time before addressing dirk. “So, how one earth did you two end up here together?” 

“I washed up here after the drones destroyed our city. Roxy happened across me and patched me up. We've been working together since.” Dirk replied rapidly, taking his broken shades off. “Now, what happened to you?” 

“Hey now, don't want to waste too much time on your side of the story.” Dave raised his eye brow at the brashness in Dirk's voice. When Dirk didn't elaborate Dave sighed and told his side of the story. “I was covering you. I remember that much, and then the drones must have knocked me out because the next thing I know I'm waking up on the Condescension's ship.” 

He paused to let the reality of his words sink in. Roxy shuddered at his tone, at the gravity of the situation. She had seen the empress's ship just once, far off in the distance. It was a great destroyer, floating menacingly on the horizon until it disappeared. PM had come to get her when it appeared, and they didn't come out of the lab for almost a week after it was gone. 

“I was in a jail cell I suppose, it was pretty roomy though. I wasn't alone either. There was a man named Bill in there with me. He had lost his daughter back when the aliens first attacked the earth, and he barely had the heart to go on. After a few days we realized there were women in the area with us, just in a different cell. We started to communicate with Morse code, and I learned that there was three women. Rose, Harley, and your mom, Jade.” 

Again silence overtook the room. Dave's eyes widened like he had said something wrong, his scarred eye twitching. Roxy didn't catch on as quickly as Dirk did, simply because she already knew what he was talking about. 

Dirk bristled. “My mom? Not 'our mom'?” He asked. 

Oh yeah. 

Roxy took a step toward the doors, wondering if she should leave the room. 

Dave just ran his hand through his shaggy blonde hair. Prison life didn't suit him at all, Roxy remembered him being suave and clean shaven when he lived with the group. “Yeah, just your mom I guess. My mom died an awful long time ago. I'm so sorry Dirk, it was just easier on me to tell people you were my brother.” 

“Why would you do that?” Dirk shouted suddenly, getting off the bed. He stood up, towering over the bed. “What could be harder to say than 'we're brothers'? Are you even related to me?” 

“He's your dad.” Roxy blurted out without thinking. Both of the men in front of her turned to stare at her with surprise. She really needed to stop letting things like that out. 

“How did you know?” Dirk asked, rounding on her. The intensity of his gaze frightened her. “You knew and you didn't tell me?” 

“I- I didn't realize you- I thought you knew.” Roxy stuttered under his furious gaze. She suddenly thought of the second night they spent together, when he had snatched the alcohol away from her. He hadn't seemed as angry then as he was now. While most of his anger was directed towards Dave, Roxy could tell he was mad at her too. “I'm sorry.” 

“Whatever.“ Dirk spat before walking out of the room. 

Roxy stared helplessly at the door before turning to Dave and bursting into tears. “Oh no, please don't cry Roxy. He's just had a shock, he'll calm down.” Dave said quickly. He pulled himself out of the bed and hovered near Roxy. When she didn't respond he pulled her into an awkward one armed hug.”Rose told you about us didn't she?” 

Roxy nodded into his shirt, which was still drenched with blood. She knew she was getting some on her shirt, but the hug was doing her good and she didn't care. “I didn't know why she told me, but I thought you two were dead and tried not to dwell on it ya know?” She replied, her voice wet. 

Dave let her go, and frowned as he tried to brush the blood off his shirt. He let out a huff as he sat back down on the bed, like the brief human contact exhausted him. “Rose is alive. You're alive. Jade, my Jade, is alive. I need to save her, them.” He muttered, almost more to himself than Roxy. 

“Feferi said she could help us.” Roxy said suddenly. She tried to wipe away the blood just like he did, but only smeared it more on her favorite pink kitty shirt. “She's going to fight the Condescension, and we can help her.” 

“Feferi is here?” Dave asked, blinking his red eye at her. “She was the one who convinced the Empress to let me go. If she's going to be helping us we might just stand a chance. Just you wait Roxy, we're going to save everyone.” 

Roxy thought about what Dirk had said, about how he was so completely against helping Feferi. Would he change his mind if he knew his father was going to help? She peered at the man sitting on the bed, and suddenly wondered if Dave was really going to be an asset with his injuries. Dave was staring back at her, weaving his head slightly to make up for his narrowed range of vision. Roxy was suddenly overwhelmed with the impossibility of the situation. 

Just then Feferi stepped into the room. The troll had pulled her tangle of hair back into a braid, and had changed her wet suit for a black tank top and a green and blue skirt. She put one hand on her hip as she stared at the remain figures in the room, her lips a hard line. “I wanted to leave so you humans could have your reunion in peace, but that Dirk boy just ran off. Why did he look so upset?” Feferi glubbbed. 

“Family secret.” Dave muttered. 

Feferi tilted her head at him, but after a moment shrugged and let the comment drop. “I need to be getting back to the ship soon. I'm going to need some time before I'm ready to fight with my sister. I'll send word in one weeks time, and that is when we fight whether you're helping me or not.” She turned back to the door, but paused in the frame. “And I do so hope that you'll help me.” 

The Alien princess left, leaving Roxy to be crushed by the overwhelming odds. How quickly her situation had changed. A month ago all she did was get drunk and play video games. Now she was planning on saving her mom from the Condescension with a man she thought long dead, all while making Dirk hate her in the process. It was all too much.


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Finally! the kissing thing happens!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dang its been a while since I've updated, sorry guys my college schedule is hella crazy. I can't promise the updates will be more frequent but I promise I'm still working on it.  
> \- Apocalyptic soundtrack- Close your eyes; Digital Daggers

  “I'm sorry Roxy.”

  Dirk was waiting for her when she returned to their home that night. He was sitting on her bed like it was a throne, like he belonged there. To be honest, he looked more comfortable there than Roxy ever did. She stared at him, surprise halting any action temporarily. Then she smiled and gave him a hug. It felt nice to be able to hug him, she hadn't had the chance since Feferi healed his fractured ribs. Dirk pulled her onto the bed and she couldn't help but giggle at the intense way he hugged her back. He buried his face in her hair, just glad to be home together.

  “I'm sorry too. I-” Roxy started to say before Dirk cut her off.

  “No, don't apologize to me. I got mad at you for no reason! We promised we were going to stick together and I've been doing a horrible job of it. What does it matter who he is, as long as he's alive and with me.” Dirk let the words out all at once, in a rushed fashion. It almost sounded like he rehearsed them, and Roxy could believe that he had. She imagined him sitting on her bed and talking to himself so he got the words right. “I mean, with us.”

  Roxy pulled away from his tight grip so she could lean up to give him a kiss on the cheek. “I guess this just means we'll have to look after him too.” She grinned, brushing a strand of curly blonde hair out of her face. Dirk smiled back at her, his orange eyes glowing. Then Roxy remembered the promise she made Feferi, and her stomach twisted unpleasantly. 

  She was trying her best to remain on good terms with Dirk, but how would he feel if he knew that she was planning on saving her mom? Roxy knew she could keep it from him, a secret all to herself, but when she left in a week with no explanation he was sure to react badly. Dirk already made his stance on the subject known, how was she ever going to get him understand?

  It was raining when Roxy got up the next morning, droplets coming down in thick sheets that made it hard to see anything. When storms like this rolled in it was hard to tell when they were going to disperse. Sometimes it was hours. Sometimes it was days. Dirk was waiting for her in the kitchen, and after they ate breakfast they decided to see Dave.

  Since he had stayed the night with the White Queen, Roxy and Dirk had to cross the city in the gale. She claimed to be fine with the arrangement, but Dave was absolutely livid about being left with a guardian. The way he talked about he sounded like WQ's teenage son, ready to fly the coop.

  It took a bit of coaxing from Roxy, but Dirk finally admitted that he was fine with Dave being his dad. Dave's face remained as expressionless as ever, but Roxy was pretty sure he was about to cry before he swept Dirk into the biggest hug she had ever seen a one armed man give. To be fair, Dave was the only person she had ever known who only had one arm. Before she could say anything about it Dave pulled her into the hug as well, and the world was a happy place for a second.

  But like all good thing, the moment had to end. Dave let them go and adopted a serious expression. Instantly Roxy knew the inevitable had arrived. “What are we going to do about the rest of the prisoners the Condescension has?”

  Dirk took a step back and shook his head angrily. “The only thing we can do is wait.” Then he waved aside Roxy and Dave, who had both opened their mouths to protest. “I don't mean we let them die, but the troll girl who was here yesterday said she was going to fight her sister. I think we shouldn't throw ourselves into harm’s way and wait to see how that goes. Give her some credit.”

  Dave frowned back at him. He made a move to cross his arm against his chest, but quickly realized how futile that was and let it drop again. “There are too many variables to say for sure. What if Feferi loses and the empress kills everyone out of spite? On that note, doesn't she know where we are? I understand that we are total badasses, but why isn't she trying to kill us more actively?”

  The front door opened at those words, and WQ stepped into the room. She looked haggard, as if she had just been arguing with someone. “I can answer that.” The queen sighed, and then stepped to the side to let in another guest.

  “You're friggen welcome.” The troll boy said as he surveyed the humans in front of him. He was taller than WQ by almost a foot, not including his jagged horns. He had short, pointed black hair, with a purple stripe in the front. Unlike Feferi he wasn't dressed for swimming, despite the fins and gills indicating he was a sea troll like she was. He wore pinstripe pants, a long sleeve black shirt, a blue striped scarf, and a dark purple cape. As odd as his fashion was Roxy found herself staring at his rifle. “I'm Eridan Ampora, you better start grovelin.”

  “Nice gun.” Roxy exclaimed, leaning over the couch to get a better look. It had an intricate seahorse carved into the trigger.

  “I don’t like him.” Dirk said instantly, pulling Roxy back.

  “Well I don’t like you either land dweller, but big flippen whoop, Fef asked me to be here so I am cus I have this huge heart.” Eridan snarked back at him. The troll hoisted the rifle onto his shoulder and glared at the beings in the room. WQ returned the glare, before she turned and stalked back to her room.

  “Feferi sent you… to guard us?” Dave asked hesitantly. Roxy knew that he was questioning Eridan’s intentions, but WQ had let him into her house. Roxy trusted the queen’s judgment that he was safe, albeit not very likable. He had to be someone worth trusting.

  “Fef told me to keep you glubbin safe, alright?” Eridan snapped back in a way that suggested he was just as unhappy about the arrangement as they were. He shifted his gun and his face took on a softer expression, and Roxy realized that no matter how much he complained he would do anything for the troll princess. He was in love, or whatever the troll equivalent was.  


  Roxy spent the rest of the evening watching Dirk, Dave, and Eridan argue about anything and everything. They snapped at each other because of sea pollution, because of how Feferi had saved Dirk, they even argued about role playing games and which one was best. Apparently Eridan was a decent pirate back on his home world; if there ever were such a thing. By the end of the night Dirk was in a fix, Roxy was crying she was laughing so hard, and Eridan and Dave were having a duel. All in all, not a single thing was accomplished, and Roxy was secretly relieved for that.

The next morning she woke up before sunrise in a cold sweat. Roxy had a nightmare, something about her mom and Dirk and Dave, but in seconds it evaporated, leaving her with nothing but a sense of dread. She rubbed her eyes for a moment, and when the feeling refused to fade she decided to get into the shower. The scalding water hit her skin, warming her to the core and making it easy to scrub away her fears. The steam curled out into the bathroom, fogging up her mirror.

   After what was close to half an hour Roxy finally felt good enough to leave the shower. The sun had risen while she was still in, and now sunlight poured through her high window making the tile floor dazzle. Roxy smiled as she patted herself dry and wrapped the towel around her head leaving the rest of her body uncovered. She opened the door to the bathroom, intent on heading back to her room.

  Instead she stepped into the hallway and locked eyes with Dirk who was holding a steaming mug of some brown liquid and was staring at her open mouthed.

  “Roxy?” Dirk cried in surprise.

  Shit. What was he doing up so early? Roxy took a hurried step back into the bathroom, and immediately slipped on the wet floor. She let out a surprised yelp as she hit the floor, but the towel kept her from hitting her head and she was more shocked than hurt by her fall. Roxy had completely forgotten that Dirk was living with her now, and she had just walked into the freakin hallway like she owned the place while stark naked. Ok, she did own the place, but wow he had seen her and it was her fault. Roxy’s face flushed deep red, and she pushed her cheek to the floor to cool it down.

  “Roxy! Are you hurt?” Dirk asked in surprise, waving his hand in front of the bathroom door to indicate that he wasn’t looking.

  “Fine!” Roxy all but screeched in reply. “I’m fine!” She quickly undid the towel from around her head and wrapped it around her body instead. Her wet hair hung in her face, and she simply brushed it to the side. Roxy didn’t want to stand up ever again. She just wanted to curl up and die right here on the bathroom floor in nothing but a towel.

  “I, uh.” Dirk stuttered as he glanced in to make sure she was covered. When he noticed she had pulled the towel down he stepped into the room and kneeled beside her. “I don’t know if you know this but I’ve started living here, and you can’t do shit like this without giving a guy a warning.” He smiled and held out a hand to help her up.

  Instead of taking the hand Roxy just covered her face. “I can’t believe I forgot you were here!” She muttered. After a moment she sat up, still holding the towel around herself.

  Dirk bit his lip. “Relax, it’s fine. It really doesn’t matter and I can-“ He shifted his foot slightly and slipped as well, knocking foreheads with Roxy.

  “Ow!” Roxy shouted at him, putting her hand to her forehead. He looked up at her with a shocked expression, both of his hands pressed against his forehead as well. When he saw that she wasn’t hurt he gave her a sheepish smile, and suddenly they were both laughing. Roxy took him in, his orange eyes shining, the way dimples formed when he was smiling, and without warning she leaned forward and kissed him.

  There was a terrifying moment when he tensed under her touch, when she thought he was going to reject her, then just as suddenly he relaxed and kissed her back. Dirk put his hand behind her head, as if he was trying to pull her closer. Roxy felt her face flush hot again, but it wasn’t from embarrassment anymore. His lips were surprisingly soft, and he parted his lips slightly, trying to get a taste of her. Where had he learned to kiss like this? Roxy pulled back after a moment, giddy with excitement.

  Dirk didn’t let go of her, but smiled. “Feeling better?”

  “Lots better.” Roxy giggled. He leaned forward and gave her another quick kiss before he pulled her up.

  “What are we doing today?” Dirk asked her.

  Roxy tied the towel up so it wouldn’t slip, and stretched her arms behind her. “I have no idea actually, I was just gonna let the day take me where ever it wanted to. But first I should probably get dressed.” She said as she stepped back into the hallway.

  “Oh.” Dirk replied. “Oh, right. I’ll just wait in the living room then.” He pointed down the hall and without waiting for a response he darted away.

  Roxy waited for him to turn his back before she raced for her room. She collapsed onto the bed in a fit of giggles, the door shut behind her and the towel she had just been wearing was now abandoned on the floor. He kissed her. Dirk had kissed her back! She curled into the bed, relishing the feel of the smooth sheets against her naked body, and hugged her pillow. After a moment she was able to relax, or at least, think rationally. She sat up slowly, and pulled her wet hair into a tiny pony tail. A shirt was pulled over her head, pants over her legs, but Roxy hardly noticed. She kept touching her lips just to feel them tingle.

  Once she was dressed she left to find Dirk. He was waiting patiently for her in the living room, and was playing one of her games to keep himself occupied. However he paused the game when she stepped into the room, and hurriedly spouted something about wanting to practice his shooting. It took a moment for his words to sink in, and Roxy just smiled and nodded her head eagerly.

  They walked slowly across the city, and after nearly ten minutes Roxy worked up the courage to take his hand in hers. It felt good, the cold of the ocean wind blowing across the city as opposed to the warmth of his fingers curling with hers. Roxy couldn’t say anything and he just smiled back at her.

  The range was just as they left it last, messy and falling apart. It felt like home. Roxy took her guns from their hiding spots and attempted to teach Dirk once again the art of the rifle, but even though his injuries were healed he did no better now than when they first met. Eventually Roxy took the rifle from him and spent the rest of the day practicing her own skills. Once she noticed the sun was going down Roxy stuffed the gun back into its hiding spot and they walked home the same way they came. Holding hands and laughing easily.

  Dirk kept glancing at the door when they got close, and Roxy narrowed her eyes in suspicion. She threw open the door and was surprised to find all of her friends in the kitchen.

  “Surprise!” WV and PM yelled, then looked around angrily when they realized no one else had yelled with them. Dave was sitting at the table, trying to look cool but was staring moodily at Eridan who was ignoring him and instead chatting with WQ. AR was in the fridge, but wasn’t touching anything as if he were afraid to eat the food without permission.

   Roxy pulled down her scarf. “What’s going on here?”

  The chatter fell away almost instantly and Roxy felt self-conscious. “You don’t know?” Dave asked slowly.

  “I- what?” Roxy asked.

  “Today is your birthday!” Dirk informed her, taking a step forward to join the rest of her friends in the kitchen. Roxy blinked at him, and then gasped as what he said registered. She hadn’t been paying any attention to the dates! Rose must have told him when her birthday was, back when they were still in a large group. Before everything had gone to hell.

   “I baked a cake!” WV said excitedly from where he was sitting at the table. There was a large cluster of tab cans in front of him, right next to a large round cake. It was sloppily made, with pink frosting slipping off its sides. It was the best damn birthday cake Roxy had ever seen. Tears started to form in the corner of her eyes, and before she knew it the carapaces were picking her up in a huge hug.

  One by one the guests came forward to congratulate Roxy. She guessed they were just as happy as she was that another year had gone by and she was still alive. Eridan’s turn was a bit odd, his words felt forced like he hadn’t wanted to come to the party in the first place. Still, he wished her a happy ‘wriggling day’ which was nice of him. Dirk came up to her and without saying a word gave her a peck on the cheek, then quickly moved away as if he were embarrassed. Roxy herself blushed when she noticed WQ give her a knowing smile. Dave remained in his seat at the table, complaining loudly at having to eat his piece of cake with one hand. 

  Sometime during the night Roxy broke the alcohol out. Almost all of her friends were against her drinking (Eridan was impartial, as he had never had it before and had no idea what it would do.) but in the end Roxy convinced them it would be fine. With this many people looking out for her there was no way something bad could happen. The carapaces quickly proved to be lightweights, starting to get dizzy after only a few drinks. WQ had politely refused to drink anything, and she ended up herding their group home before the night even started. Dirk was next to pass out, falling asleep under the kitchen table while Eridan laughed at him. In the middle of his laughter the troll passed out as well, his head against the chair he was in and his fins twitching.

  Roxy was barely getting started, but before she could challenge Dave he stood up and walked outside, motioning for Roxy to follow. Roxy trailed after him in confusion, looking down at Dirk before exiting the kitchen. She swayed as she walked, knowing full well that she was tipsy. Even in her state, Roxy could tell Dave was nervous.  

  “Dave?” He stopped by the side of her house, with nothing to separate him from the drop into the vast ocean. Roxy swayed precariously, and stopped a few feet away from him. “What’s going on?”

  “I was waiting for Dirk to go to sleep to talk to you, but I guess passed out under a table is going to have to do.” Dave said seriously. The moon was only a crescent, and was casting long shadows across the artificial town. Roxy tugged her jacket closer to her body. “I don’t want him to know what I’m up to, it’ll only upset him. I was talking to that nice AR bloke while we were waiting for you today, and he’s going to give me the parts from the robots you and Dirk destroyed. I’m going to build a ride to get us to the Condescension’s ship in a week.”   

  Roxy snapped out of her stupor awfully quick at that. “You, you’re going to go behind Dirk’s back and do this?” She asked.

  “The love of my life is still imprisoned. What’s here may be enough for Dirk, but I won’t feel like I’m living until I have her back and I’m not putting all my chips in with the two troll teenagers. This is more important to me than life itself.” Dave replied. He took a step away from the edge, which made Roxy relax slightly. He sighed and placed his hand on her shoulder. “Just, don’t tell him, ok? I love the kid but I don’t want him fuckin with my plans.”

  “He’s going to be upset with you regardless of your motivashun- moti- vassshhhun.” Roxy forgot she was saying and simply kept trying to pronounce motivation.

  Dave ruffled her hair and she snapped back to attention. He withdrew his hand and started walking back to her house. “Happy birthday Roxy, you’re an adult now. That means you need to pick a side, and pick it fast.” Dave said as he went, and then shut the kitchen door behind him.

  The heavy feeling of dread once again pervaded Roxy as she started out over the open waters. She tried vainly to think of something she could do, anything that would get her mom back without risking her or Dave’s life. Nothing came to her. There was no happy outcome in her future.

  “What do I do?”  Roxy asked desperately to no one in particular. Only silence answered her.


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The after math of the greatest party the carapace city has seen to date

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ok but seriously I wrote this chapter before 'friend zone' became a problematic term.   
> \- Apocalyptic soundtrack- Durban Skies; Bastille

Roxy found herself wandering around the city the next day. She passed the courtyard where the drones had almost killed Dirk. Very few carapaces were there, and when she arrived they all but disappeared.

The Drones that had terrorized the city were gone as well, which briefly puzzled Roxy until she remembered what Dave had said the night before. He must have gotten up early to take them away. Roxy looked down and walked past the empty yard.

The next disturbance she came across was the black square home that had been stomped flat by the lusus. There was no police tape around it, AR must not have gotten a chance to put it up yet. Roxy carefully stepped around broken glass and the shattered remains of the all the poor carapaces possessions. Where the doorstep had been now lay a bouquet of ocean lilies. The lilies were an odd flower that the empress had brought with her from some planet or another. The carapaces used the flowers to mark the death of a loved one. Roxy started down at the lilies, sniffling as tears started to slide down her cheeks.

“Did you know the beetle that lived here?” Roxy jumped as Eridan walked up behind her, his hands shoved in his pockets. He didn't have his gun with him, which was strange given he was supposed to be protecting her. She bit her tongue as he picked up one of the lilies from the wreckage.

“No,” Roxy responded. She watched as he twirled the flower in his hand. He didn't seem any worse for wear after all the drinking he had done the night before. Weird alien biology? Roxy considered this option, and quickly decided she'd like to be a troll if it meant never being hungover again.

Eridan plucked one of the petals off the lily. “What's the use? It's not like they're goin to come back. I know that for shore.” He tore off the rest of the petals and let the bald stem fall to the ground.

“It's in memory of them. No one is trying to bring their friends back to life, at least, not in the way you're thinking of. They just want to make sure the person they lost isn't forgotten,” replied Roxy, as she took a step forward and pulled Eridan away before he could destroy anymore flowers.

Eridan allowed himself to be dragged away from the memorial, but after a moment he tugged his arm out of the teenage girl's grip. “Yeah yeah I get it. But still, what happens to us after our friends die? What happens to our memories then? Nothin. We wash away like the tide, like we were never even here.”

Roxy frowned back at him. Who had he lost that made him this upset? She wanted to ask him, but ti didn't feel right, prying into his personal life like that. “Everyone leaves a trace. I just hope there will be someone to remember me when I'm gone,” Roxy said. She held her hand out to the alien boy.

Eridan eyed her hand wearily, as if he were afraid of it. Roxy waved her hand at him again and he finally took it. She lead him away from the home, back to her house. Roxy started thinking of ways she could ask him about his home world when he beat her to the punch, “It must be hard, bein the last of your kind. How do you live?”

Roxy stopped short and looked at him, “I'm not the last.”

Eridan shrugged in reply, “I have this funny ability of knowin when someone's given up all hope. You're on the edge of a big chasm, just one more push to put you in to the void."

"Stop!" Roxy said angrily, taking her hand back. "I have plenty of hope." She snarled. He gave her a sympathetic look, and she realized that he was right. Wasn't she terrified out of her mind about the future? Hadn't she just said last night that there was no way her story would have a happy ending? She glared at Eridan, but he was well aware of her insecurities.

Eridan tossed his scarf over his should and continued to walk without her, "If it's any constellation, I gave up my hope three sweeps ago," He said shortly.

That caught her attention. "You gave up hope? On what?"

"Fef." Eridan snorted. "We've been the palest of pals since I can remember, but I had hoped for the longest time we could be something more. But she found a boyfrond in this, yellow blood," He spit the word out like it was a cuss word. "She'll never think of me as anything more than her best frond."

“I'm sorry Eridan,” Roxy frowned. Feferi wasn't obligated to date Eridan, he was kinda a jerk, but that didn't mean he wasn't upset. He had every right be sad his crush didn't like him back. Having only recently gotten Dirk to like her Roxy knew exactly how he was feeling, “but you know you're doing a reely good thing being here for us.”

Eridan laughed suddenly, "Did you just say reely?"

"I meant really," Roxy said quickly, not sure why it was so funny.

"I like fish puns is all," Eridan smiled. Roxy found herself smiling back. After you got past the fact Eridan was completely full of himself, he was actually a pretty good guy. But just as quickly he turned away from her. "Sorry I'm unloadin all my problems on you."

"It's fine," Roxy smiled. She figured he didn't have any one else to talk to, and while it didn't help her it was helping someone, so she was glad for it. They finished their walk home making small chit chat, but Roxy suddenly felt like the troll boy was a friend, rather than an insufferable prick like she first thought he was.

Dirk was sitting at the kitchen table, a ginger ale in one hand. The other hand hung loosely under the table, and his bright orange eyes looked blood shot. Roxy smiled sympathetic at him, her poor baby was hungover for the first time in his life.

He looked up as they walked in, tousling his spiky blonde hair. "Hey troll whatce doin with my MY woman?" He asked, giving a little hiccup at the end. The hand that hung loosely was suddenly back on the table, and it was holding onto a bottle of dragon fruit Bacardi. He was not hungover, he was drunk.

"What on earth are you doing?" Roxy cried in surprise, taking the bottle from him. "You don't drink while you have a hangover, you will kill your liver!" She said angrily, ignoring the fact that that was all she did before he got there.

"Daaaaaved shaid it wuld make my brain ache less." Dirk slurred, sitting up and taking a swig of ginger ale as his alcohol was now gone. "Itsh not workin that shwell," Then he pointed at Eridan. "Don't think I'll forget thish."

"Shh." Roxy put her finger to her lips. "He's in the friend zone with Feferi." She said quietly.

Dirk's eyes widened. He looked at Eridan with a new found respect, while the sea dweller rolled his eyes at the both of them. "That's rough buddy. If you ever need to talk to me man, yourre free too."

"Thanks, I'll remember that. Not." Eridan laughed harshly before stalking back outside.

Dave passed him on the way in, wearing a brand new red shirt. It had long sleeves, and the one that had no arm in it hung loosely. It was kinda creepy Roxy decided. "What was that? I need to give a high five to who ever pissed of Eridumb."

"Man don say that!" Dirk replied quickly. "Hesh in the friend zone."

"Harsh." Dave replied taking a seat next to his son. "Sit up, Strider's don't let hangovers get the best of them."

"Eridumb? How old are you, five?" Roxy snapped.

"Forty five and still this hot thanks for asking." Dave smiled back at her. "And it's still funny."

"I hope I'm not like you when I get to that age." Roxy sighed.

"If you get to be this old, you may be whatever you like." Dave smiled, tipping his drink at her.

"I'm going to be shick." Dirk interrupted, putting his hand to his mouth. Roxy and Dave looked at each other terrified. Dave held out his fist, and Roxy stared for a second before doing the same. She pulled a rock while Dave pulled paper. He laughed triumphantly as Roxy rushed to Dirk's side and helped him to his feet. She half dragged, half lead him to the bathroom, praying he didn't get sick on the floor because she would have to clean it.

Fortunately he waited until she was practically shoving his head in the toilet bowl to be sick. Roxy grimace and patted his back, waiting for the heaves to subside. After a minute he wiped his mouth and sat up. He looked like he had just been to hell. Roxy frowned, she had forgotten how bad her first hangover was.

"You musht really love me, to deal wit this." Dirk gasped, keeping one hand over his mouth.

"Just now putting that together?" Roxy asked. "No more kisses for you until you wash your mouth. Four times. Maybe just once, no three times. At least." She decided. Dirk gave her a pained smile, before leaning over and throwing up into the toilet again.

"True love." Roxy muttered.

After he was feeling better Roxy told Dirk to take a shower and go to bed for the rest of the day. He protested, but when Dave offered to help him Dirk decided he could take a shower by himself. Instead Roxy talked to Dave abut the rescue. The more they talked the more she felt like it was a bad idea.

The condescension's ship was a scary place to be, and going to it on purpose was unheard of. It was easily the length of ten football fields, and painted a candy red color. Inside was no less terrifying than the outside. Drones roomed the corridors, occasionally destroying each other for the fun of it. Dave had seen enough fights to know the ones on the ship were the best of the drones. The prisons were directly under the throne room, boys in one cell, girls in the other. Dave was brought before the condescension on the day he was released. She told him formally that he was free to go, but not one single person in the room was fooled by her act. Feferi distracted her sister while Eridan went after Dave.

While he was trying to find a safe way down from the ship, he was jumped by a two mouthed cat lusus, losing his eye and arm to it's fierce claws. Before it could kill him Eridan shot it through the head, olive blood spraying the ship's deck. Eridan didn't know what to do with Dave, except drop him off with the one carapace he knew on the entire planet. Feferi's good friend, the white queen.

"She should have picked anyone but me." Dave chuckled darkly as he took a swig for the Bacardi bottle. "I was the strongest one there, the only one who could have made it out alive. And now I'm, the only one can save them."

Roxy frowned at him. Why couldn't anything her life ever be simple? Instead of arguing with him Roxy stood up and wandered further into her house. Dave let her go, ignoring her in favor of his drink. She walked down the long hallways, no particular destination in mind. Roxy passed the room where Dirk slept off his hangover, passed Rose's old room, and then passed her own room. Without really meaning to, she found herself in the lab. Everything was glowing softly green. Before it had been comforting to Roxy, but now the light just cast everything in a sickly glow. She walked up to the controls that Rose had first discovered, and that Dirk learned how to use so quickly. She hit the button, thinking she would just destroy whatever pumpkin came up to relieve stress.

To her surprise there was a flash of green and a small pill bottle appeared on the pad. Roxy sighed and walked toward it. She couldn't even screw up right! Roxy picked up the bottle and read the label. Sleeping pills. She raised an eyebrow. Sleeping pills? The last thing she had appearified was Dirk's pain pills, so she had guessed it would be medicine, but what could she do with sleeping pills? She turned the bottle over in her hands and glanced at the instructions. Affective thirty min after consumption, keeps you asleep for up to five full hours blah blah blah...

Roxy froze. Five hours? She wrapped the bottle in her scarf and ran from the room, out into the courtyard. "Eridan!" She shouted at the top of her lungs, not sure of where he would be. She raced toward WQ's house, hoping he would be there. Just as she reached the front door there was a shout from behind her.

"What do you want?" Eridan asked in his nasally voice. He was approaching her from one of the side streets, his scarf flapping widely as the wind picked up. He wasn't wearing his cape though.

Roxy felt the tiny bottle hidden away in her scarf and gulped, "How- how long will it take to defeat the condescension?"

Eridan looked at her with confusion. "How long? Let's sea, Fef is waitin for the ship to get here so we don't have to far to travel. So maybe when it's an hour away. Then the fight, well, the fight should be to long either. Maybe we'll be gone for three hours if everyfin goes well. Five hours tops."

"I'm going with you," Roxy decided quickly, "Just give me an hour to get ready."

"It's not for another few days, but alright. I can do that. Why? What do you have planned?" Eridan asked her suspiciously.

Roxy felt the bottle again. She looked up at Eridan's eyes. His eyes were yellow just like Feferi's, but his irises were a light purple that matched the stripe in his hair. "Don't worry about it." She said, turning to walk back home.

Maybe it wasn't a good one, but for the first time in a month Roxy had a plan.

  
  


 


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> whoa. yeah i swear I'm still working on this, it's just taken a back seat to the number of other projects i'm currently working on.

The week passed the same way honey drips from a container; slowly and then all at once. Though the four of them did their best to be hospitable, it was glaringly obvious there was whole lot of tension between them. Eridan spent as much time by himself as he could, Dave did the same. Dirk's dad woke up before the rest of them, and disappeared before the sun was up. Roxy set her alarm one morning, and followed him across the city. She watched as he headed straight for the abandoned drone factory, and it dawned on her that he was probably building a means to get to the Queen's ship in there. She and Dirk stopped trying to find him.

Roxy spent a great deal of her free time enjoying being a stupid teen in a relationship. She and Dirk played video games, went diving with Eridan, and occasionally they experimented with the apperarifier. Once she switched it off the medicine Roxy accidentally created a new batch of mutant kittens, and Dirk managed to appearify a horse.

He named the Pinto horse Maplehoof and he thought it was pretty funny, but Roxy was concerned. What the hell were they going to do with a horse? In the end they gave it to WV, and he let Maplehoof roam throughout the city as it pleased.

Very few times Roxy would request time alone. She made a million excuses, she wanted to read or she wanted to play single player, but she never needed to use any of them. Once she asked for a little time for herself Dirk all but disappeared, almost as if he glitched out of reality.

Without him close she had a chance to test out the sleeping pills she had made. Roxy took various drinks from the kitchen and crushed the medicine up to sprinkle in. She had to find a way to give the medicine to Dirk without freaking him out. After taking a sip of the sleeping pill laced Faygo, Roxy felt a creeping anxiety take hold of her. She knew this was wrong, but she also knew it was necessary. She was going to save her mom, whether he was supporting her or not. But drugging him? It was almost villainous of her to do this and she knew it.

As it turned out Faygo was the best for mixing in the pills. Roxy read the label to see what the recommended dose was for someone Dirk's size, and mixed the appropriate amount of pills into a two liter of orange Faygo. He really liked the orange for some reason, and once she was done Roxy hid the bottle in her room.

On Thursday night the sirens went off, signaling an approaching patrol of drones. Roxy felt like the Condescension was still after them, but her attempts were getting pathetic. She hoped it stayed that way.

The poor robots had no idea what hit them. Before they could even reach the city Eridan had eliminated half of them with his gun. Roxy stood next to him, jumping with excitement when she saw how powerful the weapon was. Dirk nervously played with his sword, waiting for the drones to get closer, but Roxy didn't intended to give them the chance.

“Can I use it?” Roxy begged. Both boys stared at her.

“You want to use Ahab's crossbows?” Eridan asked her skeptically.

“Yes, is there something strange about that?” Roxy snapped back, putting her hands on her hips. “Is this some crazy world where you think I can't handle a gun that size?”

Dirk choked at what she said, his face turning a bright shade of red. Eridan looked him and then back to Roxy, before handing the weapon over. The kickback knocked her on her ass before either boy could stop it, but she destroyed the other half of the drones and was pretty happy for it. Even if she did bruise her butt.

The destruction of the drones had a unintended side affect. While she and Dirk walked home that night one of the carapaces she had never met before ran up to them, and thanked them for protecting the city. Once he was gone two more ran up, followed by a few more. It went slowly at first, until suddenly they were swamped with the black and white creatures who all wanted to meet them. Roxy felt overwhelmed, and could tell by his expression that Dirk was feeling the same way, but it was exciting for her to finally be accepted by the general populace.

“That was weird,” commented Dirk as the last of the carapaces left them. It waved before turning and disappearing down one of the many side streets leading away from Roxy's house.

“That was great!” Roxy responded. She pulled off her pink jacket as they entered the house and tossed it onto the couch. She continued into the kitchen, opening the fridge to see if there was anything to make for dinner. There was some soda, six different brands and all of it was orange flavored. What the hell, where did the Striders keep getting this shit? Other than that there was some bread, several fish that Dirk caught the day before, and some carrots.

She pulled out the carrots and the fish and set them on the counter. “Want help making dinner?” Dirk asked, coming up behind her and wrapping his arms around her waist.

Roxy smiled, and turned around in his grip to give him a quick kiss. “No way, you'd totally screw it up. Last time we had dinner you made a sauce out of all your shitty sodas and told me it was gourmet food.”

“I thought it tasted wonderful,” Dirk crossed his arms.

“You have royally fucked up your taste buds in that case Dirky,” Roxy tapped his chest. Damn he was so cute when he was indignant.

“Or you just can't appreciate good things,” Dirk added. He uncrossed his arms and put his hands on her hips instead.

Roxy only thought about pushing him to work on dinner for a fraction of a second before she pulled him down and kissed him on the lips. She was still getting used to that, being able to kiss him whenever the notion came to her. Damn it was a nice feeling.

Dirk responded in kind, slipping one hand under her shirt and inching it slowly up her back. He parted her lips, accidentally knocking their teeth together. Roxy pulled back and laughed, covering her mouth with her hand.  
“Shit, sorry,” apologized Dirk.

“You're good.” Roxy giggled, before kissing him on the nose and finally removing his hands from her backside. “All we have right now is fish so I'm going to get started on-”

“Do you want to try the apperifier first, to see if we can't get anything new? Fish is nice but we've had it three times this week.” Dirk asked.

Roxy considered this. He was right, she had grown up on pumpkin and after a while it got a bit bland. Together they walked down to the lab and Dirk fiddled with the controls while Roxy watched. After several minutes he had created several boxes of pasta and a live chicken. What was with him and animals?

They scrambled around the lab trying to catch the chicken, and once they had it Dirk held it up. “Uh,” He said. “Should we eat it?”

“No!” Roxy shouted back, a little more forcefully than she meant to. Fish was one thing, but she didn't want to kill a chicken. “We should keep it and have eggs!”

Dirk grinned. “Yeah, that sounds great. I can build a hen house out of spare robot parts-” He started listing parts he had, what they could do, and why they would make a good house for the hen. The chicken ran wild around the front lawn while Roxy cooked and Dirk wrote out plans

After they ate Roxy headed straight for bed, since Dirk still had his sketchbook out and didn't look like he was going to be up for anything. Roxy brushed her teeth and laid down, but quickly realized she was too restless to actually get to sleep. She tossed about fitfully, thinking of everything that could go wrong with her plans. What if Dirk and Dave didn't fall asleep when she gave them the pills? What if something went wrong on the ship and she couldn't get back before they awoke? What if everything had gone wrong and her mom was actually dead? Thinking of Rose made Roxy feel sick to her stomach, and eventually the teen put a pillow over her head and tried to black out the thoughts. Rose would be fine, she had to be. Roxy hadn't seen her mom in twelve long years, and now she only had to wait two more days.

“Hey, Roxy?” A voice whispered in the dark, and Roxy couldn't tell if she were dreaming or not. She sat up sluggishly, and spotted Dirk standing in her doorway. He looked withdrawn, and only had on a pair of orange boxers and a white wife beater. “Can I sleep here?”

Roxy slowly lowered her pillow, “Sure,” she whispered.

He ruffled his hair, which was already standing straight up, and sat down on the edge of her bed. Roxy tried not to stare at the hitch in his shirt, which was intent on revealing his stomach to her. “I just, every time I fall asleep I dream that you're gone. And every single time I wake up fucking scared,” Dirk admitted.

Roxy blushed when she realized just how different their fears were. He was worried she would leave and she was worried he'd notice she was gone. Her stomach twisted, but she just nodded at Dirk like nothing was wrong. Roxy scooted to the far side of the bed so he could lay down next to her. The bed wasn't very big, and when he sat down next to her their arms were touching.

Dirk just laughed, and laid down next to her on his side. He pulled her into his arms, and she found it hard to ignore just how close he was. “Yeah, this should make it easier to fall asleep,” he whispered into her hair. Her breath caught in her throat, but she reluctantly put her arms around him. She seemed to fit perfectly in his grip, and when she started breathing again Roxy decided that this was all she wanted out of life: him. Dirk's breath slowly evened out, and within minutes he was asleep.

She entwined her fingers with his, and feeling horrible about what she was about to do to him Roxy fell asleep.

When she woke up the next morning Roxy found herself alone. The bed was still warm, and she guessed that Dirk had woken up only a little before her. She yawned, rubbing the last of her dreams from her eyes and stood up. The door was ajar but Roxy ignored it as she walked towards her dresser and tugged off her shirt.

“Hey Roxy I made coffee- Geez!” Dirk nudged the door open with his foot only to jump back into the hall so fast he spilled some of the coffee. “You have got to stop doing that!”

“Getting dressed in my own room?” Roxy snapped back, lowering her shirt to cover her chest. Fortunately this time he didn't see anything, which was way better than the first time hew walked in on her naked. At the very least she didn't trip and hit her head.

Roxy tugged a shirt on and walked forward to properly close the door. “Give me a minute,” She commanded the door, before walking back to her dresser. She snapped a bra on under the shirt because she was too lazy to take it off again. The new shirt was pink, with a white mutant cat on it. After that she tugged on her favorite black skirt and then the pink and purple scarf that she wore so often.

“Hey,” Dirk said when she opened the door, his ears a bit red from blushing. “I made coffee.”

"Why thank you." Roxy replied, taking the cup from him. She gave him a quick kiss which he returned in earnest, putting his hand on her hip. Roxy felt her heart beat a little faster, but she pulled back suddenly. It hurt, knowing she was about to do something he didn't want her to do. Instead she sipped the drink. She normally didn't like coffee, but Dirk made it with lots if cream and it was actually pretty good.

Dirk followed her back to the kitchen where Dave was helping himself to the half empty pot of coffee. "Who are you again?" Dirk asked, rolling his eyes and sitting down at the table. Roxy sat next to him.

"Funny." Dave replied, taking a long drink of the coffee. "Bleh that's sweet."

"Oh go drink your own coffee then." Dirk frowned at him.

"Nah." Dave smiled, taking another sip. He took the mug with him when he left that day. Dirk and Roxy walked to the edge of the city, looking out at the endless ocean sadly.

"Eridan!" Roxy called, but after several minutes it became obvious the troll boy wasn't nearby. "Guess we're not going diving today." Roxy sighed looking back at Dirk.

"We could still go fishing." He suggested. They had traded a few of the mutant cats for a fishing pole set from one of the carapaces. How a carapace had ended up with a fishing pole set was beyond them, but they were glad for it at least. They had made several good meals out of the fish they caught. Roxy was to squeamish to actually kill or gut the fish, so that was Dirk's job. In turn she cooked them.

After they had a bucket full of wriggling bass, Dirk and Roxy walked back home to cook dinner. To their surprise, Dave was waiting for them in the living room. He was playing a skateboarding game on the tv screen, though he wasn't doing very well.

"Hey love birds, what's for lunch? I'm starving." He called, not even looking up from the screen.

Dirk raised an eyebrow. "Well first of all it's dinner time. Second of all what are you doing home so early?"

"Why?" Dave looked up and wiggled his eyebrows. "I could leave if you need me to."

Roxy blushed furiously, while Dirk threw a fish at his dad's face. "You know exactly what I mean." He snapped, but when Roxy looked at him she found he was blushing too.

"I'm done with that. I just want to spend time with you now." Dave replied.

Dirk was quiet for a moment, and Roxy looked at him, concern on her face. "That's fine." Dirk said finally, hoisting the bucket of fish up and heading for the kitchen.

Done? Roxy wondered. He gave up on making something out of the robot parts, or he had finished? She decided not to press the matter, she didn't want the boys to fight when tomorrow was the big day. Roxy put the fishing poles away and climbed up to the roof while Dirk killed the fish. She hated killing, and wanted to have no part of the act.

She listened to the gulls call out to each other for a few minutes before sitting down on the ledge facing the sea. Roxy recalled the first time Dirk had been on the roof with her, when she had almost fallen into the water in her drunken stupor, only to have him reach out and save her. Roxy kicked her legs out in frustration. It was her turn to do the saving.

Just as she was about to stand up Roxy heard a loud splash from below her, and looked around in confusion. Eridan was staring up at her from where he had just surfaced, bobbing gently in the waves. His dark hair was slicked back and his scarf billowed around him like seaweed. “Roxy,” He said urgently.

“Eridan?” Roxy responded, confusion evident in her voice. She leaned over the edge to see him better, and despite how grim he looked the first thing she noticed was that he didn't have his cape on. Seriously, why was that the thing that stood out to her? “What's going on? Where have you been all day?”

“Look I just got an emergency message from Fef, the Condescension has caught wind of our plans and if we don't act fast everything is gonna come undone. We have to leave tonight if we're still going,” Eridan told her urgently, readjusting his glasses.

Roxy felt like he had just punched her in the stomach. Her stomach twisted painfully and she winced. “Tonight?” She gasped, covering her mouth with her hand.

“I still have some scores I need to settle before I go,” Eridan said, nodding to some vague location behind him. Roxy wasn't a fish, she had no idea what he could be talking about. Then he continued, “meet me back here when the sun goes down.”

With that he let out a huff and dived back down beneath the waves. Within seconds his form was lost, and Roxy was alone again. She stared wide eyed down at the dark water that had swallowed him, scarf and all. Tonight? Her heart started to beat sporadically in her chest, like a bird trying to free itself from a cage. This was it. She had to save her mom.

Trying to keep herself calm Roxy got off the roof and walked back to the kitchen. She forced herself to think about her steps, to focus on nothing but her body moving because she couldn't afford to tip Dirk off to what she was about to do. Dave was sitting at the table while Dirk was at the stove just putting the first filets on. He looked up when Roxy entered and gave her a small smile.

“Hey, I started the fish without you, that's okay right?” Dirk asked her. Roxy nodded quickly, but couldn't find it in herself to smile back.

“Sure,” Roxy said in a restrained way, and then winced at the way she sounded. Fortunately neither boy seemed to notice how nervous she was. Roxy walked past Dirk to the fridge, pulling out the bottle of orange Faygo. She took a deep breath before pouring them both a glass and getting herself water.

Dirk finished frying the fish and got out several plates so they could eat. They didn't have any side dishes to eat with the fish, but with how nervous she felt Roxy knew she wasn't even going to be able to fish she took. She poked her food around the plate, taking small bites occasionally and watching the others. They both downed their glasses as they ate, making small talk that Roxy reserved herself from. Her nerves bubbled in her stomach, making her feel like she needed to get sick. Then she saw Dave yawn.

Roxy allowed herself to relax, taking another bite of her fish. She grimaced as she pulled a bone out of her mouth. Dirk laughed at the expression she was making, before he broke into a yawn as well.

“I think it's time to hit the hay. I'm kinda wiped,” Dirk muttered, stretching his arms out. He looked like he was about to fall asleep on the spot, and for one fleeting second Roxy was afraid she had overdosed him. But no, she had been careful measure exactly how much they would need. She had to go with the average since Dave was so much bigger than Dirk, but it wouldn't be enough to harm either of them.

Dave stood up to bring his dishes to the sink, and the motion was more sluggish than his normal gait.

“You coming?” Dirk yawned again as he headed for her room.

“Just a minute! You go ahead!” Roxy replied. She twirled the fork in her hands as they left the room, and then glanced out the window. The sun was slowly setting, lighting the sky with deep oranges and violets as it went down. Roxy felt her heart skip a beat, and finally she stood up.

She carefully walked toward her room, trying desperately to still her heart. Dirk was already in bed when she got there, his hair messy and his eyelids drooping.

“Roxy, I'm worried about you,” he mumbled sleepily.

“Why?” She asked, sitting at the edge of the bed.

“You seemed scared at dinner,” a yawn, “and I know that we're all worried about tomorrow, but I promise everything will turn out fine.”

Roxy sat quietly for a moment, fighting back tears. “You can't promise me that,” Roxy whispered back. His eyes grew round for a moment before they closed and his breathing evened out. He was asleep, and hopefully would stay that way until she could save her mom and get back. She was starting to doubt her plan, but it was too late to take things back. Roxy sniffled miserably to herself and pressed a kiss to his forehead. “I'm so sorry,” Roxy muttered as she walked from the room.

She stopped outside of Rose's room before deciding to check and make sure that Dave was a sleep as well. Once she saw the gentle rise and fall of his figure she made a bee line for the lab. Roxy stared at her rifle before swinging it onto her back. She picked up one of her mom's old pistols too, just in case.

Roxy clambered back onto the roof just as the sun touched the horizon. The sky was quickly turning from gold to indigo, and the stars were starting to come out. She took a deep breath, wrapped her scarf tightly, and looked out across the waves.

“I'm ready,” Roxy whispered to no one in particular, tears streaming down her face. 

 


End file.
